You're All I Need
by clexawarrior
Summary: Alison DiLaurentis is the queen bee of Rosewood High, and Emily Fields is just a loser on the swim team who has an obvious crush on Alison. However, the blonde is slowly realizing that she might just return Emily's feelings, and she starts to learn that her reputation is not so important after all.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello, PLL fandom! I normally write for Clexa, but since Emison is my other OTP, I've decided to write a story about them as well. I hope you all enjoy the story!**

* * *

Alison DiLaurentis walked down the hallways of Rosewood High, feeling on top of the world. She ruled the entire school, and everyone knew it. The people in the hallway parted like the Red Sea as she walked through their midst because they were all afraid of what might happen if they got in her way. She heard two other sets of shoes clicking behind her, and she knew that it was her friends, Mona Vanderwaal and Spencer Hastings. Together, the three of them formed the perfect clique. They glared in unison at anyone who got too close, and Ali reveled in the power she had over the people there, even if they hated her for it. She didn't care what they thought of her as long as they continued to allow her to have this power. As Ali walked with her head held high, a nerdy kid named Robert approached her, handing her a piece of paper.

"Here is your algebra 2 homework, Alison. You should get 100 on this," he said nervously.

"I better," she snapped as she snatched it out of his hands.

He nodded quickly before hurrying away, afraid to be in Alison's presence any longer. She wordlessly handed it back to Mona who gratefully accepted it. Whenever Alison had someone else do her homework for her, she would always give it to Mona so that the brunette could copy it before Ali turned it in. Everyone knew that Spencer didn't need it. She was the smartest kid in the entire school. She always acted like it was completely easy for her and like she didn't care about school at all, but Ali knew that Spencer spent more than her fair share of time studying. Alison knew she could easily just copy Spencer's homework, but it boosted her image to have losers like Robert do it for her and give it back to her in public to remind everyone of their place in this school. Speaking of losers, Lucas whipped around the corner at that exact moment, looking down at something on his phone, and Ali gasped when he crashed right into her, spilling his coffee all over her boots.

"I'm so sorry," he said, wiping her boots with his shirtsleeve.

Alison looked down at him in disgust. "Don't touch me, Hermie."

"My name is Lucas," he said, standing up.

"Can you go be Lucas somewhere else?" Mona asked rudely.

Spencer glared at him, quick to jump in. "Yeah. We don't want you getting your hermaphrodite germs on us."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." He didn't even have the nerve to meet their eyes. Ali smirked when his eyes darted up to her face, and he turned around, scurrying off down the hallway. Once he was out of hearing range, the three girls all began to laugh at how ridiculous he was.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Mona laughed.

"Yeah. He's so pathetic. He looked like he was about to shit himself when he ran away." Alison tossed her long golden curls over her shoulder. It was at that moment that she noticed Emily Fields eyeing her from her position at her locker. Ali could tell that the other girl thought that she was being discreet, but the blond girl knew better. She wasn't surprised when someone whistled, clearly having noticed Emily's stare. Ali gestured for her friends to keep walking as she stormed over to Emily, grabbing her by her shirt and pushing her roughly into the lockers, holding her there in a death grip.

"Listen here, you filthy lesbian! I can see you checking me out from a mile away, and you better cut it out, or I'll make sure you pay. You make me feel so disgusted when I can see you practically fucking me with your eyes. You creep me out, so stay away from me!" Ali shouted.

Tears were already beginning to form in the corners of Emily's brown eyes. "I'm really sorry, Alison. I'll stop."

"I better not catch you staring at me ever again!" Ali yelled.

She shoved Emily away and turned around with a satisfied smirk when she saw that everyone was watching her. That ought to keep them in line for a few days at least. No one would dare cross her now after that outburst. When she walked out into the sunlight, she found Mona and Spencer waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did you deal with the lesbian?" Mona asked in a bored tone, not even looking up from filing her nails.

"Yeah. I don't think she'll be bothering me again for a while," Ali replied smugly.

Spencer laughed. "What did you say to her? Please tell me it was good."

Alison shot her a smile. "Of course it was. I told her that she disgusted me with her eye fucking, and I yelled at her to stop staring and stay away from me, and I mean yelled. At the top of my lungs. Everyone was looking my way when I walked out of there."

Spencer and Mona both snickered at this news, which made Ali smile even more brightly.

"Perfect," Spencer said, "So do you guys want to hang out a bit? We could hit up the mall."

"I'm always down for the mall." Mona finally looked up from her nail filing so she could look at the blond leader of their clique. "Are you in, Ali?"

"I can't today. This is Cece's last day in Rosewood, so I'm going to spend it with her. But don't worry. We can go to the mall tomorrow."

A disappointed look flashed across Spencer's face, but she recovered quickly. "Okay. We'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye," Alison called over her shoulder, already heading for her car.

* * *

Emily tried to blink back the tears as she watched Alison's retreating form, but she couldn't help it as a few slipped out of her eyes. She hated it when Ali yelled at her in front of everyone like that. Especially this time because she had made such a big scene. Emily was so embarrassed at the moment, and she knew that kids would be talking about this for days, which meant the teasing would get worse again. Emily quickly tried to wipe her tears as Paige walked over to her locker, which was located next to Emily's, but it was too late. She had already seen them.

"I saw what happened, Emily. I hate Alison. How dare she think she can treat you like this?" Paige snarled.

"She's full of herself. Ever since I came out as a lesbian, she thinks I'm in love with her. She thinks everyone's in love with her, but they're not," Emily said, a little bitterly.

"Maybe if you started dating someone else, then she would stop acting so cruelly towards you. You've told me you're in love with me, Emily. Why won't you just give us a chance?" Paige pleaded.

Emily sighed. "Paige, I've already told you, if I started dating someone, the teasing would get so much worse than it already is. It would be way worse than people simply teasing me because of Alison's silly notion that I like her if, you know, I was actually dating someone. I promise you that the minute we graduate, we can get together, but until then, I don't want to date anyone."

Paige hung her head. "I know, and I understand." Emily watched as a smile then broke out onto the other girl's face. "But I'm holding you to that promise."

Emily smiled back. "Fair enough."

Paige than dropped the subject, leaning against her locker. "So do you want to hang out tonight?"

"Can't. I've got a history test to study for. You know how my mom gets on the night before a test. I'm not allowed to do anything but study. Besides, I should probably actually study a little bit at least. I'd get in so much trouble if I failed."

"Oh, that sucks. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Good luck on your test."

"Thanks. See ya."

Emily shut her locker door, slinging her backpack over her shoulder before making her way to the parking lot. She could already feel the flutters in her stomach when she thought about what she was going to do next.

* * *

When Ali got home, her house was completely empty. This was to be expected because her parents were rarely ever home. They always said they were on business trips because they had conferences to go to that were out of town. Ali was almost positive they were lying. They couldn't be on business trips all the time. She learned a long time ago that they were simply away from the house at all times because they didn't want to deal with her and Jason. Sometimes, they would stay away for so long that they simply sent money to the house instead of actually showing up to make sure their kids were okay. Ali figured that Jason was probably out with his beer buddies at the time, but she couldn't be sure. She hadn't seen him in a couple months, which was very unusual for him. He had never stayed out for longer than a week before. Ali simply shrugged it off, figuring that he might have moved in with one of his beer buddies so they could get wasted all the time together like the lowlifes they were. She couldn't bring herself to care though. There was nothing she could do about it, and she couldn't say that she didn't enjoy the peace and quiet that an empty household brought with it.

She took the stairs two at a time before heading to her bedroom and flopping down on her bed. She looked at her watch, and she figured that she had a little while at least to start working on her chemistry homework. This was the subject that was the most difficult for her, so she found it helpful to work on the homework herself so that she would not fail the tests. She worked through the first few reading comprehension questions with ease, effortlessly finding the answers in the text, but the last few chemical reaction problems proved to be a lot more difficult. She tried reading the book and following the example given, but she didn't really understand what it was saying because she had been too busy texting Spencer about something that had happened in her previous class when the teacher had been explaining the concept earlier that day. She was just about to give up on her homework and find something else to do when she heard the doorbell ring. She sprang from her bed and hurried down the stairs, throwing the door open for the person waiting on the other side.

It was Emily.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm really glad that people enjoyed the first chapter of this story, so here is a much longer chapter for you guys now. Thank you to the people who favorited and followed already and thank you as well to those who reviewed. I really enjoy hearing from you guys. Without further ado, here is chapter 2! Enjoy!**

* * *

Alison smiled at the girl who was standing on her porch and opened the door wider so that Emily could step inside.

"Hey, Em," Ali said as Emily walked past, closing the door behind her.

Emily smiled at her. "Hey, Ali, what's up? I feel like we haven't hung out in a long time."

"I know, but Cece was in town, and I was spending time with her. I haven't really had all that time to hang out with the girls either. I can tell they miss me. They've been asking me to hang out all week." Ali rolled her eyes.

"So how did you get away from them today?" Emily asked.

Alison flashed her a mischievous smirk. "I told them that today was Cece's last day in Rosewood. She really left yesterday. I lied about it though because I really wanted to spend time with you before I go back to hanging out with them."

Emily shot her an incredulous look. "Why would you want to hang out with me over your best friends?"

"You're my best friend, Em. I missed having you around. Besides, I get to see them every day at school. I hardly ever get to talk to you." Ali winced when she thought about the things she had said earlier that day, and she looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean to make such a big scene. I just figured I might as well keep everyone in line while I'm at it, but I really am sorry. It may not seem like it, but I hate it when I have to do that."

"It's okay, Ali. I understand that you have to protect your image. Being friends with me would bring your popularity way down. It might even make you a loser. I totally get why you would want to rule the school because I mean, everybody does, and I don't want to be the one that ruins that for you. What happened today is my fault anyway. I shouldn't have been staring at you so openly like that." Emily looked down at her feet.

Ali shook her head. "It's not your fault. It's the fault of the boy who whistled for calling you out on it and forcing me to take care of it. Thank you for being understanding of me though, Em."

Emily continued to stare down at her feet, and Alison sighed. She hated doing this to Emily, and she wished that she could apologize for real and tell the brunette that she would never be rude to her again, that she and Emily could be friends at school, that it didn't matter. Alison was so close to opening her mouth and saying all of that, but she abruptly shut it again, reminding herself of what she would be giving up if she did. Her reputation was everything to her. It was really all she had, and she knew that being friends with Emily would completely ruin it. The only thing was that she liked Emily. The brunette girl was different. She was special. She made Alison _feel_ special. She genuinely cared about Ali and wanted to hang around with her, something that could not be said about any of the other people at school. Most people at school hated her, but Ali wasn't sure her friends completely liked her either. She knew that Mona envied her because Ali was the queen bee, and she had always wanted that spot for herself. Spencer seemed to be a genuine friend, but Alison knew that she was probably just in it for the popularity. Who wouldn't be? Alison wished that her friends could be more like Emily, but they weren't, and that was that. Alison decided to shift the conversation to a different, slightly less confusing, topic. "So before we do anything, would you mind helping me with my chemistry homework? I'm having trouble with some of the problems at the end."

Emily's face brightened now that the awkward conversation topic was gone. "Sure. I'd love to. Chemistry is actually one of my favorite subjects."

Alison was already aware of this because Emily had mentioned liking chemistry several times before, but she was glad to hear that the other girl would help her. She led the way upstairs to her bedroom and flopped down on her bed to pick up with her homework where she had left off. Emily gingerly sat down on the bed beside her to take a look at the problems she was working on. Alison pointed to the last four. "This is the part I don't understand."

"Oh. Balancing chemical reactions. That's easy!" Emily exclaimed.

Alison looked down in embarrassment, a little humiliated that she couldn't seem to get something that Emily clearly found simple. The brunette seemed to realize that she had hurt the blonde's feelings a bit because she immediately corrected her mistake.

"I'm so sorry, Ali. I didn't mean to make you sound stupid. I just meant that it will be easy for me to explain it to you, that's all," Emily stammered.

Alison put her hand over the other girl's to calm her. "It's okay, Em. Relax."

Emily cleared her throat before turning her attention back to the chemistry problems at hand. "Okay, so when you balance a chemical equation, you just have to make sure that you have the same number of each type of atom on each side of the reaction."

Alison nodded in understanding. "So, say I have two hydrogen atoms on one side, then I have to make sure there are two on the other side."

"Right," Emily confirmed. "Let's look at the first one. That should be the easiest. So since there are three carbon atoms on the left side and only one on the right side, you just place a three in front of the one on the right."

Alison looked at her questioningly. "That's it?"

"That's it." Emily nodded.

Alison wrote the three in like Emily had instructed, and then brunette began speaking again. "Okay, so now, you have two hydrogen atoms on the right side and eight on the left side. What do you do here?"

Alison looked at the question in confusion, a little stumped by the fact that there were already two on the right side. However, she wanted to please Emily and make it look like she may have actually paid at least some attention in the class, even though she hadn't paid an ounce of attention since the start of the school year, so she figured she would just take a guess. She thought it must be an addition sort of thing. "Put a six in front of the one on the right?"

"So I can see you weren't paying attention in class," Emily said knowingly, and Alison dipped her head in embarrassment, "but that's okay. It's a multiplication kind of deal. You'd put a four in front of the one on the right because four sets of two hydrogen atoms makes eight."

Alison wrote down the four before turning back to look at Emily gratefully. "That makes it a lot easier for me to understand."

"Good. Can you finish up the reaction now?"

"On the left side, there's two oxygen atoms, and we now have ten on the right side, so I would put a five in front of the one on the left to finish the problem," Alison said confidently.

"Yes. Great job, Alison! I knew you'd get the hang of it!" Emily exclaimed proudly, and Alison's heart swelled with the amount of happiness that Emily got from her success.

"Thanks, Em. I definitely understand it better now, but do you mind watching while I do the next three problems, just to make sure I have it down?"

"Of course I will."

Emily watched over Alison's shoulder as she worked out the next three problems, correcting her if she made a mistake. Ali loved the way that Emily would get so excited for her when she got the right answer and explain it so nicely to her when she didn't. Ali normally asked Spencer for help with this kind of thing, but the smarter girl always explained things too technically, making Ali feel like an idiot, and they would both end up frustrated by the end. Honestly though, Ali preferred Emily's company because she was so gentle in her explanations, and she genuinely wanted Alison to succeed. Emily might have been a loser, but she actually cared about the blonde, and in a world where no one else did, that counted for something.

When Ali finished up the rest of the problems, she shut her chemistry book with the homework still tucked inside it and threw it on the floor next to her backpack. Then, she turned to face Emily, putting a hand on her arm. "Thanks for helping me with that."

Emily's cheeks tinged pink with a blush. "It was really no problem at all."

Alison couldn't help but love the effect that she had on Emily. She knew that the other girl had feelings for her. She had known since Emily had kissed her last summer. She had kissed back at the time because she didn't want to scare her best friend away, or so she had told herself then, but she made sure to tell Emily later that she could never return those feelings so as not to lead the brunette on. Lately though, she was starting to wonder if maybe she did have the ability to return Emily's feelings after all, but she pushed the thought away almost as soon as it had entered her head.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" Alison asked.

"Whatever you want to do is fine," Emily said sweetly, and honestly Ali wasn't even the least bit surprised.

She wasn't letting Emily off the hook that easily though. She wanted the other girl to decide. "Em, you just sat here and helped me with my chemistry homework, which was not what you came here to do, nor can it be what you really wanted to do. Tonight, I'll do anything you want."

Emily's eyes brightened a bit as she seemingly got a good idea of what the two of them could do. "Okay. How about we go ice skating?"

Ali smiled at the thought. She and Emily used to go to the ice skating rink all the time in their freshman year, soon after they had first met. It had been their favorite place to hang out, and Ali loved it there. She loved the feeling of skating over the ice, so she was definitely excited at the prospect of going again. However, she was a bit reluctant since she hadn't been to the rink in over a year. She didn't know how well she'd be able to skate anymore. "It's been a long time since I went to the ice skating rink, Em. What if I can't remember how to skate?"

"That's fine. I'm sure you'll be a little rusty so you can hold onto my arm until you get used to it again. I still go skating with Hanna and Aria quite a bit, so I can still skate well. I'll help you as long as you need. Besides, you said we could do anything I want," Emily reminded the blonde with a smirk.

Alison rolled her eyes playfully. "Ugh, you're right. Let's go."

Alison rolled off of her bed and began the trek down the stairs, Emily following close behind. Ali stopped in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, grabbing her car keys off the table where she had left them before turning back to Emily with a questioning glance. "Do you want to drive?"

Emily shook her head. "I didn't bring my car. I walked here."

"Alrighty then. My car it is." Ali twirled the key ring around on her finger.

When the two girls got outside, they climbed into Alison's car, and Ali didn't hesitate to put the keys in the ignition. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited to go ice skating tonight. She only hoped that no one from school would be there, but as ice skating wasn't a big thing for the students at Rosewood High, she was fairly certain that she and Emily would be left to their own devices. After pulling out of her driveway, Ali began driving down her street in the direction of the ice skating rink. She could feel Emily's eyes on her as she drove so she chanced a quick questioning glance at the brunette beside her. Alison was surprised when Emily spoke up of her own accord. "Ali…"

She didn't say anything after that so Ali prompted her to continue. "What?"

She looked like she was about to say something, but before she could get the words out, a blush spread over her cheeks, and she turned away. Ali decided to try harder to figure out what it was that Emily was trying to say. "What is it, Em? You can tell me."

"Well, it's just that you said you would do anything I wanted, and….I thought maybe I would ask if you would hold my hand…just until we get there," she said nervously.

Alison smiled warmly at her. "Of course I will, Em. It's the least I can do in return for everything that you do for me."

Alison kept one hand on the steering wheel and brought the other one over to hold onto Emily's. The brunette boldly intertwined their fingers together, and Alison let her, telling herself that she was just doing it since Emily helped her with her homework. She knew deep down that it was more than that though. She actually enjoyed it. Holding Emily's warm hand in hers made her feel safe, like nothing could harm her. She felt like she and Emily were the only two people in the world, and Alison felt like she could simply be herself. Not the queen bee that everyone else saw. Just Ali. She felt that way a lot when she was with Emily. She knew she shouldn't be feeling any of these things though, so she tried to clear her head of those thoughts. It was just weird and wrong for her to think about her best friend that way. However, she couldn't suppress the tiny wish that this car ride would never end.

* * *

When the two girls arrived at the ice skating rink, Ali was glad to see that she didn't recognize any of the people there. She followed Emily to the desk to rent ice skates. Once they had their skates in hand, they sat down onto the benches to put them onto their feet before gliding out onto the ice. Alison was unsteady on her feet, and she immediately clutched onto Emily's arm, holding on for dear life. She kept her feet absolutely still, afraid to move as she was pulled along by Emily. When they began to go around the first turn, Alison found that her strategy failed when her legs flew out from under her, and she collapsed to the ice, pulling Emily down with her. The brunette landed right on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs.

"Oh my gosh, Ali! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Emily's brown eyes shined with concern as she quickly rolled off of the blonde and helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ali said, catching her breath.

Alison grabbed onto Emily's arm again, deciding to give it another go. This time, when they went around the bend, when Alison's legs wobbled, Emily was ready, looping a strong arm around her waist to keep her steady. Soon enough, Alison was simply holding Emily's hand rather than holding onto her arm. When Ali felt ready to let go, she looked nervously at Emily, and Emily seemed to know exactly what she was thinking because she flashed the blond girl an encouraging glance and then released her hand. Ali went around on her own, and surprisingly, she did not fall. She forgot how much she loved ice skating. She felt so free as she glided across the ice, like she could just be Alison. The person she had to be to keep her status at school, the girl she pretended to be to have everyone bow to her will, was gone as she went around and around the ice rink. Suddenly, she found herself wondering why her reputation was so important to her anyway. Would it hurt her so much to have real friends instead of having everyone fear her? Why wouldn't she want people to genuinely like her for who she was instead of cower before the person she pretended to be? Didn't she want anyone to see Ali? As she continued to skate, nothing mattered to her except for that moment, that one pure moment of being free, and she loved it. She remembered that she was not there alone, and she looked around for Emily, spotting her a few feet behind, smiling gently at Ali. The blond girl knew that Emily was smiling because she enjoyed seeing Alison be so happy. Why? Because she genuinely cared about her. This was the kind of friendship Ali wanted, not the ones she supposedly had at school.

Alison slowed down a bit to wait for Emily to catch up, smiling brightly. "Thank you so much for bringing me here."

Emily dipped her head shyly. "Of course. I knew you'd love it once you got the hang of it again. I mean, I love it too."

Alison was about to respond when the lights dimmed all around them, and the beginnings of a slow song filled the air, accompanied by a voice over the loudspeakers. "Grab the one you love."

Both of the girls knew exactly what that meant. It was time for couples skate. Emily immediately turned to skate off of the ice, but Alison let her impulses take over, and she reached out before she even knew what she was doing, grabbing Emily's arms. All Alison knew was that she didn't want Emily to leave. She took advantage of the bold and free feeling that she had while skating over the ice. She didn't want to put on a mask at this moment. She just wanted to be Ali, and Ali really wanted Emily to dance with her right then and there. Emily turned back to face her with a questioning glance, confusion clearly written out on her face, and Ali just smiled at her, extending a hand to the other girl. "Wanna dance?"

"With you?!" Emily asked, her shock clear on her face.

"Yes. With me," Ali said surely.

Emily looked around nervously. "Are you sure? What if someone sees?"

Ali knew she should care about that, but at that moment, she did not. She didn't really care about anything other than dancing with the girl that was standing in front of her. "I don't care. I want to. Please just dance with me."

Emily finally took Alison's extended hand, and Ali pulled her out to the middle of the ice. Emily tentatively put her hands on Ali's shoulders, but Alison was not content with just that, so she pulled Emily closer, pressing their bodies together as she wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist. Emily sighed in content as she wrapped her arms around the back of Ali's neck, and Ali could feel the other girl's heart racing. Maybe Ali's heart was racing too, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get lost in the feeling of simply swaying to the music with Emily. She had danced with many people before, but she found that she had never enjoyed the feeling as much as she was with Emily now. When she looked up to meet Emily's brown eyes, she found that the other girl was already staring at her, and she was caught in her gaze for a moment. When she finally got the power to look away, she chanced a glance down at Emily's soft pink lips, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss them. Well, she sort of knew what it was like, but she didn't mean a short chaste kiss like Emily had given her this summer, she meant a _real_ kiss. She decided that she was going to find out, and in a moment of bravery, Ali leaned up to connect their lips together. After a moment of initial shock, Emily's lips began to move against hers, and Alison didn't think she'd ever felt so much during a kiss before. She kissed Emily hungrily, pouring all of her pent-up feelings from the past two years into the kiss, and she hoped that Emily could feel just how much she meant to the blonde. Ali brushed her tongue against Emily's bottom lip, begging for entrance, and the brunette parted her lips, allowing Ali to explore the inside of her mouth. After a few more glorious seconds, Emily seemingly came to her senses and pulled away, looking into blue eyes. "Ali, what are you doing?"

Ali smirked playfully. "Kissing you."

"Why? You made it perfectly clear to me that you only have feelings for boys."

Alison bit her lip, contemplating whether or not she wanted to tell Emily the truth. She realized now exactly what the truth was. She had subconsciously had feelings for Emily ever since the brunette first smiled at her in algebra class during their freshman year. She had only realized these feelings when Emily kissed her this past summer, and even then, she only let herself acknowledge them for a second before pushing them away again.

Emily had been over at Alison's house for a sleepover, and Ali remembered that she had been in a particularly good mood that day. She had told Emily that she was so glad that the other girl still wanted to hang out with her, and it was the first time that she admitted to Emily that she was Alison's best friend. Emily had just leaned over to kiss her, and Ali had done nothing to stop it. She hadn't even been able to help herself from returning the kiss because it had felt so right. When Emily pulled back again, Ali had simply smiled at her and was glad when the brunette resumed talking like nothing had happened. She had told herself that she couldn't have feelings for Emily. Even if the brunette wasn't a girl, she was still a loser, and it would be a double kill to Alison's reputation if she started dating her.

Later that same night, Emily had wrapped an arm around Alison's waist when they were lying in bed, pulling her closer to cuddle, and Alison had been quick to scramble out of the brunette girl's grasp. She kindly explained to Emily that while it was fine that Emily had feelings for her, she could never return those feelings because she only liked boys. Emily had immediately apologized, and Ali had felt kind of bad for lying, but she had easily pushed the feeling away. The truth was though that every time she was around Emily, no matter how much she tried not to, she always ended up falling more in love with the other girl.

"I want you to know that I was lying when I said that. I was just scared, but the truth is that I do have feelings for you, Em. I mean, I think I always have. I think—" Ali broke off, her wave of bravery fading out, and she looked away.

Emily quickly cupped her cheek, guiding blue eyes back up to meet brown. "You think what, Ali?"

Alison was hesitant for a moment, but then she decided to just say it—she wanted to say it—so she did. "I think I'm in love with you, Em."

A huge grin spread across Emily's face. "I'm in love with you too, Ali."

She pressed her lips back against the blonde's, and Alison got lost in the kiss, not stopping until the song ended, and the sounds of all the single people skating back out onto the ice brought them back to reality. Alison smiled warmly at Emily. "It's getting late. We should probably head back soon. Do you want to stay at my place tonight?"

"I'd love to," Emily said, grinning widely.

The two of them began to skate off the ice, in silent agreement that they would head out now. After they had removed their skates, they brought them to the front desk to return them before walking out into the cool air of the evening. Ali grabbed Emily's hand in her own as the two of them made the short walk back to the car in the fading sunlight. Emily turned to face her. "So are we officially going out now?"

"If that's what you want," Ali said sincerely, "but we can't tell anyone. This has to stay between us for now."

"Why?" Emily was quick to ask, disappointment clear on her face.

Alison sighed, wondering how it was that Emily could've possibly thought that she'd just walk into school the next day and say that she was dating the brunette. "You know that would kill my rep, Em. You should know that dating another girl isn't exactly cool."

Emily looked away, seemingly trying to decide whether or not to say something before she turned back to meet Ali's eyes. "I'm sorry. I respect your decision, but I don't want to be in a relationship with you until we can be public about it. I understand why you don't want to tell anyone right now, and I promise that I will wait for you, but I've never been with anyone before. I want my first relationship to be real."

"Em, come on," Ali pleaded. "I want to be with you. I really do."

"I want to be with you too, Ali. You know that, but I don't want to have to keep our relationship a secret."

"Em, you know I can't tell anyone about this. I would lose my queen bee status in an instant. Everyone would make fun of me." Alison was getting desperate now.

Emily stood her ground. "Everyone makes fun of me, but it doesn't matter because at least I'm getting to be myself."

Ali could see the reasoning in that statement because there were many days that she wished she could just be herself as well. Today was one of them, but she knew she would never give up her reputation for that. Without it, who was she? So she simply decided to try again. "You know I can never do that. We still hang out all the time, so we will have plenty of time for dates and stuff like that. I don't get it. Why is it so important that everyone knows?"

"Because I want to be able to show you off to the world as my girlfriend." Emily looked hesitant, but then she plundered on with what was most likely the real reason. "And I want to make sure you're not playing me or just doing this out of pity. I want to make sure that you really want this as well before I completely open up my heart to you."

"Em, please. I promise that I want this just as much as you do, and I would never break your heart. I'm being completely sincere. Won't you please just trust me?" Alison realized that she was practically groveling at this point. She had never wanted anything more in her life than she wanted this one girl in front of her, and to be honest, it scared her. She didn't know what to do if Emily refused because then _she_ would be the one with the broken heart, and one did not simply break Alison DiLaurentis's heart. It seemed like Emily might be the first. "I'll wait for you to be ready, I promise, but I'm not going to be in a secret relationship with you."

The finality of the other girl's tone made Alison's blood boil. How dare this girl stand here and refuse her? Any of the boys at Rosewood High would be falling over themselves to go out with Alison, whether they had to keep it a secret or not. However, Ali knew she wasn't getting what she wanted this time, and she was definitely not used to not getting what she wanted. She couldn't believe that Emily, a complete loser, had the nerve to turn her down. What hurt even more though was the knowledge that Emily didn't completely trust her, even after all the time they had spent together. Ali couldn't help but think that maybe Emily didn't love her enough, and she was instantly blinded by rage. "Fine, then. You can have your way, but you won't even have to bother with waiting for me because I don't want to go out with you ever. You were right. I was just taking pity on you because I know that you have a crush on me, and I wanted to do something nice for you, but you know what? I don't even want to be your friend anymore! The people at school are right about you, and I can't believe I didn't see it before. You're just a loser, just like everyone says you are!" Ali felt crazy as she walked to her car, but she didn't care. It was the only way for her to keep from crying.

Emily ran after her, desperately trying to fix what she had so clearly messed up. "Ali, please don't be this way. Why can't you just respect my decision? If you really love me, you would care about what I think too."

"Haven't you been listening? I don't love you! I was just pretending. Now please just stay away from me!" Ali was already getting in her car, desperate to escape.

"Wait, Ali! You're my ride!" Emily shouted in a last ditch effort.

Ali didn't care though. She knew Emily's house was only a ten minute walk from the rink. She pulled the car door shut, turning on the engine and pulling out of her parking space. Alison wished she had never even admitted her feelings for Emily, let alone told her she loved her. That had been the plan. To ignore the love and move on. Now, Alison had made herself look like a complete fool in front of the girl she loved, and she couldn't bear to be around that girl any longer. However, Ali couldn't help but wince at the image of Emily standing on the curb with tears running down her cheeks as Ali sped away.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed since Emily had last spoken to Alison, and she missed the blonde so much. At first, it had felt good to be away from her because Emily was angry that Ali wouldn't respect her decision, and she was also hurt that Ali would choose her reputation over Emily, even though she hadn't really expected anything else. Now, though, Emily didn't think it felt so good not speaking to the blonde. It felt weird not hanging out with Alison after school. It felt even weirder not speaking to her in general. She missed the small smiles Ali would give her at school when no one else was looking. She missed being her best friend. She missed everything about the blond girl, and she knew she had majorly messed up. Emily hated the way that Alison avoided her gaze now at all costs, whether or not anyone was looking. She had secretly been best friends with Ali, and she had thrown it all away because she couldn't bring herself to trust the blonde. She didn't know what she had been thinking. The one thing that she had always wanted was for Ali to return her feelings, and when she finally admitted that she did, Emily had turned her down because she had been too afraid that the other girl was just using her. Had Ali ever used her once? No. She had used countless other people, but never Emily. The brunette had always been special to her, and now Emily had gone and hurt her feelings because she had basically said that she didn't trust her. Emily felt stupid, and she could only hope that Ali would not still be mad at her after she apologized. Now, Emily was waiting in an empty English classroom for Alison to walk by, and the minute she saw her, the brunette didn't hesitate to pull her inside, breathing a sigh of relief that the blonde had been alone.

Ali's lip curled in disgust when she saw who had pulled her inside. "What the hell, Emily?!"

Emily couldn't keep the hurt off of her face when she heard the other girl call her Emily. She couldn't even remember the last time the blonde had called her that, if she ever even had. The brunette was always Em to her. Or at least, she used to be.

"Ali, please just hear me out. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did last week. I don't know what I was thinking, but I want you to know that I don't care anymore. I love you, and I want to go out with you. I don't care if we have to keep it a secret. I just want to be with you," Emily said sincerely.

"Did you not hear me last week? I am not into you like that. I like boys," Ali snarled.

"I heard you, but that's not what you said at all. I get that you're hurt because you feel like I rejected you, but I didn't reject you at all. I would've waited for you as long as it took. I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't trust you. I had no right to do that when you basically proved to me over and over again that I _can_ trust you, even if I'm the only one who can. I messed up, and I was stupid to turn you down, but can you please just give me one more chance?" Emily pleaded.

"It doesn't matter, Emily. You hurt me, and I don't want to be with you anymore," Ali said, "I don't need someone like you in my life anyway. I thought you were different, special even, but you're not. You're just like all the rest of them."

That hurt more than Emily could explain. She knew that Alison didn't have many people on her side, or really anyone at all for that matter, and she felt like Emily was the one who really cared about her. Emily always saw her as stronger than everyone else because that's the way she always seemed, even around the brunette, but now she realized that Ali was just like everyone else. She could also see that Ali was a lot more sensitive than she had ever let on before. She was hurt extremely easily, and Emily should've been more careful with her. When Emily didn't respond, Ali scoffed and walked out of the classroom, blending into the crowd for once. Emily couldn't help her tears from falling as she ran after the blond girl. "Ali! Ali, please wait!"

Ali didn't turn around, and Emily saw that there was no way to catch up to the other girl. She slumped against her locker and just let her tears fall. She couldn't believe Alison was acting this way. I mean sure, Emily should've trusted her more, but she wasn't really that wrong not to. No one could trust Ali. She was a master manipulator, and Emily hadn't been able to help the fear that she herself might have been about to get used because she had watched the blonde do it to other people countless times before. Emily shouldn't have hurt her feelings, but it's not like Ali was innocent in the matter. She had no right to treat Emily so cruelly right now when the brunette had only been trying to apologize. Emily noticed someone coming up out of her peripheral vision, and she sighed when she realized that it was Paige.

"What happened?" Paige asked, clearly noticing Emily's tears.

"Alison happened," Emily mumbled.

Paige's face turned sympathetic. "What did she do this time?"

Emily choked on a sob. "I hate her, Paige. I hate her."

Emily obviously didn't mean the words, but she certainly was not happy with the blonde at this point in time, and she couldn't very well tell Paige what had really happened so that's what she settled on.

"I know you hate her, Emily, which is why you're going to love what Lucas and I have planned." Paige smiled, and Emily couldn't help but laugh a little.

This caused Emily to cheer up a bit, and she wiped at her tears. "What are you trying to pull this time?"

Paige and Lucas were constantly thinking up ways to bring Alison down, but they never, ever worked. One time, Lucas had tried to get Ali to cheat off of his paper on a math test so that she would get detention. He knew that math was not her strongest subject, so he sat beside her, thinking that she would cheat off of his test because he was smart. However, she didn't even glance in his direction once. When Emily asked Alison about it later, the blonde told her that Mona had taken the test early since she was out of town that day, and Mona had given her all the answers. Another time, Paige tried to trip Ali on the stairs outside of the school, hoping that the blonde would fall and get hurt, but Alison caught herself, turning around to push Paige down instead and yelling, "Watch where you're going, loser!" Emily hadn't been able to suppress her laugh after that one. Alison had noticed her laughing and had shot her a wink, causing her to blush profusely. Emily couldn't wait to find out what kind of idiotic plan they had come up with now.

"This time, it's going to be big. Since we can't succeed on bringing her down at this school, we're going to make sure she never returns to it. You see, Lucas and I watched the exact route that Alison takes home from school each day. Lucas managed to program a car to drive straight at the touch of a button with no one inside of it. We're going to ram it into Alison's car when she turns onto her street today. With the speed the car will be going, it could kill her, and that's kind of what we're going for." Paige laid out the plan.

Emily just stared at her in shock. "You're trying to kill her?"

Paige nodded in satisfaction. "Yep, and we're almost positive this time that it's going to work."

Emily's head spun. They couldn't kill Alison. They just couldn't. Even if Emily was mad at her blond best friend right now, that didn't mean that she didn't love her. She loved that girl more than anything, and Emily didn't even want to think about a world without Alison in it. She tried her best to remain calm when she next opened her mouth. "You have to call Lucas and tell him to stop. You can't just kill her."

Paige gave her an incredulous look. "Why not? I thought you'd be happy about this."

"You and Lucas will go to jail if you go through with it," Emily argued. Not that she would ever care. She'd definitely make sure the cops knew exactly who did it if the two of them succeeded.

"There's no way for them to trace it back to us. Lucas got an unregistered car, and there will be no one driving it. Lucas wore gloves so as not to leave fingerprints when he touched anything, and he will destroy the remote the minute it's over. We can't possibly be linked to this. It's not like we're the only ones with motive either. Everyone in this town wants that girl dead," Paige argued.

Emily realized that Paige was right. Even if she told the cops it was them, what evidence would she have? Nothing. It wouldn't matter anyway though. It would already be too late. She needed to stop Paige now before anything happened to Alison. "You can't just take her life from her, Paige. I won't let you."

Paige's face morphed into a scowl. "Why are you defending her, Em?" Emily visibly shuddered when Paige used Ali's nickname for her. "She deserves this. I thought you of all people would be able to see that. She just made you cry no less than five minutes ago."

"I get that she's a horrible person, but no one deserves to die, Paige. Not even Alison. It's not right."

"Fine. I'll call it off," Paige relented, and Emily had to fight to keep a relieved smile from spreading across her face when Paige dialed Lucas's number.

"Thank you," Emily said as they listened to the phone ring.

"Why don't you want me to do this?" Paige narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Emily tried her best to keep her face and tone neutral. "Because I was raised with a set of morals, Paige."

Paige wasn't buying it. "Tell me the real reason."

Emily could feel her panic rising. "That is the real reason."

Paige held up the phone. "Tell me, or I'll hang up."

"Because I'm in love with her," Emily blurted out before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened, and she wished that she could suck the words right back in, but it was too late. Paige had already heard them. She backed away a step, a mixture of hurt and betrayal on her face. Emily watched as rage smoldered up in the other girl's eyes, and Paige hung up the phone before Lucas even had a chance to answer.

"What did you just say? So you've never really had feelings for me then, huh? You were just pretending that entire time? Why the hell would you do that to me? This whole time, you've been in love with _her_?!" Paige was shouting now, and people were starting to look their way. However, when they saw it was just two losers, they walked on, and Emily didn't know whether to feel relieved that they wouldn't hear that she loved Alison or upset that they didn't listen, in case Paige started talking about her plans again.

"Paige, please calm down. I do love you as a friend, and I'm sorry I led you on and didn't correct you when you thought I meant more by that statement. You were so happy, and I just didn't know how to tell you, but I know that it will only ever be Ali for me," Emily said.

"Oh please, Emily. That dumb bitch hates you. She has never given you the light of day. How can you say that it will only ever be her when she only ever makes you cry, but I have always been there for you?"

"That's where you're wrong, Paige. Ali and I have been hanging out in secret this whole time, and she says I'm her best friend. She doesn't want to tell anyone about it, and that's fine by me. She gives me a lot more than the light of day, Paige. She loves me too."

"I can't believe that all this time you've been on her side. You were never really our friend at all. Now I know why you never joined in on our plans and why you always laughed when we failed. You never wanted us to succeed. You were always rooting for her." Paige looked angrier than Emily had ever remembered seeing her. "I'm sure she doesn't actually love you though. The little whore's probably just using you for attention, or maybe she just wants to experiment, and then you'll be just another notch on her bedpost."

"Don't you dare talk about her that way!" Emily shouted, getting angry herself. "She's not like that at all. She's actually really sweet once you get to know her."

"Oh I'm sure she is—" Paige was cut off by the sound of her cell phone ringing, and Emily grabbed for the device when she saw that the caller ID said Lucas. However, her fingers closed around thin air when Paige pulled the phone out of Emily's reach and answered it.

Emily could hear Lucas's voice from where she was standing. "Hello, Paige. You tried to call me? Are you having second thoughts about all this? Do you want me to stop the attack?"

Emily knew what was coming before Paige even snarled her answer. "No. Run it!"

The other girl hung up the phone before the boy could even answer, and then she turned back to Emily. "I hope your last conversation with your little girlfriend was a good one."

Emily almost cried when she thought of what their last conversation had actually been and how she would never actually be Ali's girlfriend if Paige's plan succeeded today. "You have to stop this nonsense, Paige. You can't kill Ali."

"Yes, I can, and I will," Paige snapped. "It's too late now, Emily. By the end of the day, Alison will be dead."

Emily shook her head and backed away from the crazy girl in front of her before whipping around and running to the parking lot. She looked around frantically for Alison's car, but it was already gone. Emily didn't have any time to waste, so she took off running down the street in the direction of Ali's house, fearing what she would find when she got there. After running for a good while, she sighed in relief when she saw Ali's car sitting at a stop light. She was about to turn onto the street that would lead to her own street. Emily had to stop her. Emily planned to run out in front of the car, but by the time she got there, Ali was already turning. Emily ran ahead on the sidewalk, waving frantically for Ali to stop. She could only hope that the blond girl would listen.

* * *

Alison was driving down the road when she noticed a very familiar girl jogging down the sidewalk beside her. Emily pantomimed cutting her throat, and Alison could tell that the brunette girl wanted her to stop her car. Emily gestured for Ali to come over to her, and Ali rolled her eyes, figuring that the other girl just wanted to apologize to her yet again. She didn't care though. Emily had seriously hurt her feelings, and Alison didn't want anything to do with her at the moment after their fight earlier that day. Alison couldn't believe that it had taken Emily an entire week to come apologize to her. That had hurt even more than Emily's obvious lack of trust already had.

Ali tried to keep her eyes focused on the road, but she couldn't help sneaking another glance at Emily. The brunette was running beside her and sobbing hysterically, and Ali almost pulled the car over to comfort her, but she didn't because Emily had no reason to be acting so crazy about this. Ali would forgive her eventually. Emily was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she would never cut the brunette out of her life completely. Emily had to know that. The blonde just needed a bit of space right now. As Ali turned onto her street, she saw Emily collapse onto the sidewalk behind her, and the blonde felt a little guilty about how worked up Emily was becoming over this. Maybe she had been too hard on the other girl back at the school. The brunette had only been trying to apologize after all. She resolved to try and make things right with Emily the next day, but for now, she just needed to go home. Ali almost didn't notice that there was a car that had seemingly come out of nowhere coming straight for her and traveling at an alarming speed. She swerved to avoid it, but it slammed right into her, sending her car spinning off the road. Ali felt her head go through the driver's side window, shattering the glass, as the car spun in circles. The vehicle finally smashed into a tree, almost sending Alison flying through the windshield with the force. Ali tried to look around or get out of the car or do _something_ , but her vision was already fading fast. She leaned back against the seat as her world went black.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger, everyone. My original version of the chapter was longer, but I thought it would be more suspenseful to end it here. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I know many of you are excited to find out what happens after last chapter's cliffhanger, so here you go. Enjoy!**

* * *

Emily watched through her tears as Alison's car hit a tree with a sickening crunch, and the brunette could only hope that Paige's plan hadn't worked all the way. For a second, Emily was frozen in shock, but she quickly recovered, hurriedly reaching for her phone and dialing 911.

A voice came through the phone seconds later. "911. What is your emergency?"

Emily tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "There's been an accident on Bridgewater Terrace. Please hurry."

"Did you see what happened?" the operator asked.

"A car was going really fast, and it crashed into my friend's car. She spun out of control and hit a tree," Emily explained.

"Were you in the car with her?"

"No, ma'am. I was on the sidewalk. I saw the entire thing."

"Don't worry. Just stay calm, and we'll send an ambulance immediately."

Once the operator stopped speaking, Emily hung up the phone, and she wanted to run to Ali's car, but she found that she was rooted in place, afraid of what she might find. When she finally got herself to move, she slowly approached the car. She noticed that the driver's side window was completely shattered, and she quickly opened the door. Ali was slumped in the driver's seat, a huge gash on her forehead that must have come from the shattered glass of the window. It made Emily queasy just looking at it. She wanted nothing more than to climb in and pull Alison into her lap, but she didn't want to risk hurting the other girl by moving her. She immediately reached over to grab the blond girl's wrist, desperate to find out if Paige and Lucas had succeeded or not. "Ali, please tell me you're still alive."

Emily sighed in relief when she felt Alison's pulse. She was still alive. Paige's plan had failed. Emily brushed a piece of Ali's hair behind her ear on the side of her head that wasn't injured, and she was surprised when Ali groaned, blinking open blue eyes that were glazed over in pain. Emily gave Alison a wobbly smile when blue eyes met brown.

"Em?" Ali croaked.

Emily climbed into the car beside Ali, putting her arms around the blonde's shoulders to hold her close. "I'm right here, Ali." Alison relaxed against the brunette girl, resting her head against Emily's chest. She brought her hands up to clutch onto Emily's arm, not wanting to let the other girl go, and Emily hoped the ambulance would get there soon. Emily tried to comfort the girl in her arms by murmuring soothingly in her ear. "It's okay, Ali. You're gonna be okay. The ambulance is on its way. Everything is going to be okay."

Emily wished she could believe her own words, and she had to stop herself from shaking and letting Alison know how worried she was. Soon, Ali's eyes fell closed, and her grip on Emily's arm loosened significantly. Emily looked down at her, kissing the side of her head and hoping that the ambulance would not be too late.

When the vehicle finally arrived, Emily gently let go of Alison, stepping out of the car to meet the team of paramedics. A few of them immediately got to work lifting Ali onto a stretcher, and one of them stopped in front of Emily. "Are you the one who made the 911 call?"

Emily nodded, too afraid to say anything else, and the paramedic continued, "I promise your friend will be well taken care of. Will you be joining us at the hospital?"

"Could I ride with her?"

"We typically only allow family members inside the ambulance."

"But my car's still parked at school," Emily protested.

The man looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but it's best for your friend if she rides alone. The medics need room to work to make sure they can save her."

Emily nodded in understanding, and the man who had been talking to her, who she later found out was the driver, walked back over to his team, helping them to load Ali into the ambulance. Emily felt tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of Alison going all alone and the fact that she would not know if Ali pulled through until she arrived at the hospital. She didn't even want to think about that though. Ali was going to pull through, and that was that. As the ambulance sped off down the street, Emily made her way back down the sidewalk, heading to get her car.

* * *

When Emily arrived at the hospital, she was informed that Alison had made it there alive and was currently being examined by the doctors. Emily simply sat in the waiting room, trying to quell her nerves by telling herself that Ali would be fine. If she had made it here, she wouldn't die now. Emily had to believe that she would pull through. The brunette girl sat there for hours, waiting for any news on Alison, and she practically sprang from her chair when a doctor finally came out asking for her. "Ms. Fields?"

"That's me." Emily quickly walked over to him.

"I understand that you are here for Alison DiLaurentis?"

"Yes. I am. How's she doing?"

"We gave her stitches for her forehead—"

Emily cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "Is she going to be okay?"

The doctor looked at her sympathetically, and her heart dropped into her stomach. She knew that whatever she was going to hear next wasn't going to be good. "She will live, yes. She is very lucky in that aspect. With the speed the other car was going before it crashed into hers, it's a miracle that she wasn't killed immediately. However, the impact compressed her spinal cord. When she wakes up, she won't be able to feel her legs."

Emily's heart clenched in sorrow for Alison, and she felt tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes. "For how long?"

"Forever. The chances of her walking again are very slim."

Emily couldn't accept that. She latched immediately onto this slim chance. "But there is a chance, right?"

"There's always a chance, but like I said, it's highly unlikely. Don't get her hopes up."

Emily couldn't believe this was actually happening. This entire day had felt surreal, and she seriously wished that she would wake up, and this would all be a dream. Only she didn't wake up because it was real. She tried to keep from crying as the doctor continued to talk. "I spoke to Alison's parents, and it seems that they are both out of town on a business trip. Her mother has promised to be here as soon as she can."

Emily nodded, trying not to let her desperation show in her eyes as she asked her next question. "Can I see her?"

The doctor nodded. "She probably won't wake up for a few more hours, but you are perfectly welcome to wait with her until she does."

Emily walked calmly past the doctor before quickening her pace and trying not to run as she made her way to Ali's room. The sight of Alison lying in that hospital bed broke her heart. The blonde looked so small lying there in that hospital gown, and Emily blinked the tears out of her eyes for what she felt must be the millionth time that day. She pulled a chair next to Alison's bed so that she could sit down, and she took Ali's hand in her own. She couldn't help but feel that this was all her fault. Paige was about to call off the attack. She was literally calling Lucas to tell him to stop, and she would have too if Emily hadn't blurted out that she loved Alison. That wasn't the only mistake she had made. It might not have even mattered that Paige decided to go through with the attack if Emily hadn't gotten Ali so furious with her. If she had never hurt the blonde's feelings, Ali wouldn't have even hesitated to pull her car over when she saw Emily on the sidewalk. Emily had messed up, and now Alison was lying in a hospital bed. Emily couldn't help but feel that if it weren't for her, Ali would be just fine. She would still be able to walk.

Emily tried to clear her head of these thoughts as she tried to think of what she would tell Alison when she woke up. How could she break the news to her? Where would they even go from here? Emily didn't know the first thing about helping people in wheelchairs, but she knew that she would soon find out because she intended to help Ali's mom take care of the blonde whenever she could. She knew this would be extremely hard for Alison. The blonde would hate feeling so helpless, and she knew that the girl's precious reputation would be ruined now. There was no way she would still be ruling the school after this. Everyone would more than likely make fun of her now that she was so powerless, and Emily wished that she could turn back time and prevent this from happening. She knew that Ali was strong, but would she be strong enough for this? Emily didn't know.

* * *

Alison blinked her eyes open, her gaze immediately locking on Emily who was sitting beside her, holding her hand. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she tried to think of what on earth Emily might be doing in her room, but she came up empty-handed. She knew she had been mad at Emily before, but she found that her anger had dissipated, and she knew that she was the one who was being stupid the whole time. It hurt that Emily didn't trust her, but honestly, why should she? Ali constantly used and manipulated everyone around her, and even though she would never even dream of doing the same to the brunette, how was Emily supposed to know that? She felt bad for having yelled at Emily earlier when she came to apologize, and she was glad that the other girl was clearly not mad at her. Even though it was kind of strange that Emily would just show up like this, Ali let it slide, knowing that she owed the girl an apology of her own. More than anything though, she just missed having Emily around. She had never gone this long without talking to the brunette before, and she found that she wanted it to end now. She looked up to meet Emily's sad eyes, but getting out an apology was harder than she thought. Alison DiLaurentis never apologized to anyone, so for now, she settled instead on, "What are you doing here?"

"Ali, I—" Emily started to say.

Ali knew before Emily even started that the brunette was about to apologize again, and this gave Alison the courage she needed, knowing that it was her turn to say she was sorry. "Don't apologize, Em. It's me who should be apologizing. I never even had a right to get mad in the first place. I should've just respected your decision, just like you said. I seriously love you, Emily, and to be honest, maybe we should just tell everyone about us. Maybe my status shouldn't matter to me as much as it does."

Alison watched in confusion as a tear trickled down from Emily's eye, and she wondered what she could have possibly said to upset the other girl. "Why are you crying? Are you still mad at me?"

"No, Ali. That's not it at all." Emily was quick to assure her. "It's great that you want to be with me. I want to be with you too. It's just…do you know why you're here?"

Alison finally took the time to actually look around, realizing that she was not in her room after all. When she had first come to, she had been so focused upon Emily that she hadn't even bothered to look at anything else. She now saw that she was lying in a hospital bed, and the events of the day came rushing back to her. Emily running along the sidewalk, crying, trying to get Alison to stop her car. Ali ignoring her and driving on. Emily collapsing to the pavement behind her. That car coming out of nowhere and hitting her. Her world going black. She also faintly remembered being held by Emily, but she didn't know if that was real or not. She looked up at Emily, finally realizing why the brunette had been crying earlier. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Emily asked in confusion.

"You knew that car was going to hit me. That's why you were telling me to stop my car, but how did you know?"

"Lucas programmed the car to hit you, and Paige was in on it too. They were trying to kill you, Ali. Paige told me about it after school, and she thought I would be happy about it. As if I could ever be happy about hurting you. I tried to get Paige to stop, but I messed up, and she wouldn't." Emily hung her head in shame as if this was all her fault, and Alison didn't miss it as more tears streaked down her face.

Alison stroked the back of Emily's hand soothingly with her thumb. "Em, don't cry. This is not your fault at all. Paige is clearly a psychopath. There was nothing you could do. Besides, Paige and Lucas failed. The crash didn't kill me. I'm still right here."

"Ali, can you feel your legs?"

Alison found this question to be very odd, and she had to admit it caught her off guard. That was, until she realized that she couldn't, and she suddenly began to panic. "What's wrong with them? Are they broken?" Alison looked down for any sign that her legs might be in casts, but she found nothing.

"No. They're not broken," Emily said gently. "They're fine. It's just that the crash compressed your spinal cord, so you can't feel them."

Ali felt her panic begin to grow. "What do you mean? How long will I have to stay off them?"

Emily was trying her best to blink back her tears. "Ali, I don't think you understand. You're probably never going to walk again."

"What are you talking about? I can't never be able to walk again. There has to be some way for me to heal," Ali argued.

Emily gave Ali a grim look, and the blonde started to feel dizzy. She felt tears prick at the corners of her own eyes as this new reality started to sink in.

"The doctor said there's a slim chance that feeling will return to your legs," Emily mumbled quickly, unable to meet Ali's eyes.

Ali blinked, trying to understand the situation. "So I could walk again."

Emily sighed. "Yeah, but he made sure to tell me how unlikely that was and how I shouldn't get your hopes up."

Alison shook her head. "I can't do this. How am I going to be able to do anything for myself if I can't walk?"

Emily finally brought her eyes back up to meet the blonde's. "Your mom is coming back to take care of you."

"What? My parents don't care about me. They never have," Ali argued.

"You got hurt, Ali. I'm sure your mom cares enough for this."

Alison knew better than to trust this promise of her mom taking care of her, even if the older woman was coming back like Emily had said. It was probably necessary for her to be there for Ali to get discharged from the hospital, and the blonde knew her mother would be furious about having to come home to take care of her daughter. Alison knew that living with her mother would be rough, and she didn't even want to think about what school would be like for her now. "I don't ever want to go back to school. I definitely won't be ruling the school anymore now that I'll be in a wheelchair. Everyone will probably make fun of me."

"I'll try and keep people away from you as best as I can. I'll walk you to all of your classes," Emily promised, trying desperately to reassure the blonde, but it wasn't working.

"I just wish this never happened." Alison felt the tears begin to pour down her cheeks, and she didn't even try to stop it. Emily immediately climbed into the bed beside her, pulling the sobbing blonde into her chest. Emily began to rub her back soothingly, murmuring comforting words into her ear to calm her down, but Ali was too upset. She still couldn't believe that she would never walk again. How could she spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair? If only she had stopped the car when Emily warned her to, if only she wouldn't have gotten mad at Emily last week for nothing, this never would've happened. Their argument last week seemed so trivial now compared to this. Everything that the blonde had cared about last week seemed trivial compared to this. She tried to calm down a bit, focusing on the brunette who was holding her close, but even after her tears had stopped flowing, Emily made no move to let her go.

* * *

Exactly two days later, Alison's mother arrived. She knew Emily was wrong about her mom suddenly caring about her. The older woman never did before, so why would she care now? Ali's mom had told the doctor she would be there as soon as she could. Any normal parent would probably drop everything to come and see their daughter. Not Alison's mom.

When Jessica DiLaurentis finally walked through the door, Alison found herself immediately enveloped into her mother's embrace. "Oh, Alison, sweetheart. I'm so glad you're alright. When the doctors called me and said there was an accident, I was so worried."

Alison had to stop herself from scoffing. If the woman was so worried, then how come it took her two days to get here? Alison wasn't falling for her mother's act, knowing that it would disappear the minute they were alone. Still, Ali was sort of glad to see her mother because that meant that she could finally be discharged. If she had to spend another minute in this hospital, she was going to go mad. "When can we get out of here? I want to get out of here."

Emily stood from the chair she was sitting in. "I'll go get the nurse so she can discharge you."

Jessica and Alison waited in silence for the nurse to arrive. Ali could feel the tension in the air, and she knew the only thing that was keeping her mother in check was the fact that the nurse could come in at any minute. When the nurse arrived, she checked Ali over one more time to make sure she was ready to go, and then she began explaining to Jessica how to help Ali as she got used to her new condition. After explaining all the basics, the nurse gave Jessica a shower chair and a spare wheelchair and then went to help the older woman take the items down to the car. When they were both gone, Alison and Emily were left alone, and Ali breathed a sigh of relief that her mother was gone, even if it was only for a few minutes. Emily immediately moved back to sit beside the blonde, grabbing Ali's hand soothingly. "See? I told you your mother cares about you."

Ali almost rolled her eyes at the fact that Emily fell for her mother's act so easily. "She doesn't, Em. It's all an act. The minute we leave this hospital, she will be back to her usual horrible self."

Emily looked at her skeptically, clearly not believing her, and so Ali said nothing after that, not wanting to argue with the brunette over something as stupid as her mom. Besides, she couldn't blame Emily for having this viewpoint. The brunette always saw the best in everyone, and any normal mother would care for their child in a situation like this, no matter how strained their relationship had previously been. Plus, Jessica did put on a good act. Ali hated it.

When her mother returned with the nurse, the latter helped her into a wheelchair, and she was released to her mother, who began to push her out of the hospital. Jessica kept her cheery and loving demeanor until they reached the parking lot, but the second they did, it dropped, just as Ali knew it would, and the real Jessica came out. "How dare you make me come back here? Your father and I are very busy people, and we don't have time to come back here for silly little children who can't look after themselves."

"I knew you were just putting on an act in there. You don't care about me," Alison was quick to say.

"Don't you get smart with me. You are a total inconvenience. I still cannot get over the fact that you wrecked the car that your father and I so graciously bought for you. Do you know how much money that cost? A lot!" Jessica yelled.

Alison was not in the least bit surprised that her mother cared more about the car than her own daughter, but she figured she had to at least try and defend herself. "You don't understand, Mom. The car crash was in no way my fault. That car was intended to hit me. These kids from school—"

Jessica cut her off. "Let me guess. They'd had enough of you? What did you do to provoke them, Alison?"

Alison just sat there in silence after that. She didn't know how to respond without angering her mom further, and she thought that it might be smart not to anger the woman who was now going to have to take care of her. She'd be lying if she said her mother's words didn't sting though. There was a little part of her that had actually believed Emily and had thought that maybe this accident would make her mom actually start to care about her, but things were no different than before. Alison had figured that her mom might at least try and be nicer to her after what had happened, but no. Ali had almost died, and her mom didn't even care.

"We need to hurry back to the house. This has already inconvenienced me enough, and I need to be back in New York tonight. Hopefully this doesn't take much longer because I don't want to be tired for my business conference tomorrow," Jessica said, almost to herself.

Alison looked up at her mother incredulously. "You're not even staying to take care of me?! What about the things the nurse said? Mom, I'm in a wheelchair. I can't walk!"

"Yes, I realize that. I'll move your bed downstairs before I go. You'll be fine," Jessica said, as if that would solve the problem.

This was unbelievable. The absolute indifference that Jessica had toward Alison really hurt the younger girl's feelings, even if she wanted to pretend that it didn't. She felt a few tears slip from her eyes, but she instantly wiped them away when she heard footsteps approaching behind them, figuring that maybe the nurse had come to tell them something she had forgotten to in the room. Ali's eyebrows shot up in surprise when she saw that it was Emily who stepped up beside them. "Hi, Mrs. D. I realize that you're a very busy person, and Ali told me how important your conferences are, so I just wanted to let you know that she can stay with me if you want. I listened to everything that the nurse said, and I'd be happy to take care of her."

Jessica turned to face Emily with a pleasant look on her face. "Are you sure…?" The older woman trailed off, not knowing the name of the girl who was currently offering to look after her daughter.

"Emily," the brunette supplied.

"Are you sure, Emily? I wouldn't want to inconvenience your parents," Jessica said with fake concern. As if she actually cared.

Emily smiled politely at her. "My father lives in Texas right now because he's in the military, and my mom is actually visiting him for a couple months, so it'll just be me and Ali for a while."

"That would be wonderful!" Ali could see the relief that was shining in her mother's eyes as she said this. "Thank you for doing this."

"It's really no problem at all," Emily said sweetly.

Alison simply watched as her mother transferred the items that the nurse had given her into Emily's car. Once she was done, the blonde was not surprised to notice that her mother was clearly ready to leave. Jessica bent down to hug her daughter. "Alright. I'm going back to meet up with your father. Have fun with Emily, sweetie."

Once Jessica turned around, she walked quickly back to her car, getting in and speeding away, leaving Emily and Alison simply watching from the street. Ali watched as Emily's happy smile morphed into a frown. She didn't say anything, however, so Ali decided to be the one to break the silence. "Were you behind us that whole time?"

Emily nodded. "I knew your mother was rarely ever home, but I never realized she was so…"

"Horrible?" Ali suggested.

"Yeah," Emily agreed.

Ali sighed. "That's how she's always been. My dad too. I never really cared though when I was younger because I had Jason. He always looked out for me, and I loved him. Then, he turned to drugs and alcohol, and now, he's no better than our parents."

Emily's voice took on a gentle tone. "Ali, you have to understand that Jason was in the same situation as you. I know you didn't turn to alcohol, but you have to know that his life was even harder because he had a little sister to take care of and no one to watch out for him. Home life was difficult for him as well."

Alison knew Emily was right, no matter how much she wanted to hate Jason for what he had done. Nothing could push away the fact that she missed him. A wave of nostalgia passed over Alison as she longed for the days when she and Jason were younger, and it was just the two of them. She'd give anything to have Jason back in her life, but she realized that she didn't even know where he was right now. There was nothing she could do until he came back home, so she brushed her nostalgia away.

"Can we go to your house now?" Alison asked Emily, changing the subject.

Emily gave the blonde a soft smile. "Sure."

The brunette easily wheeled Ali over to her car, bringing her around to the passenger's side and opening the door. Then, Ali felt Emily lift her up, and her arms instinctively went around Emily's neck.

"This is okay, right?" Emily asked. "I'm not hurting you?"

"You're fine," Ali assured, as she was lowered into her seat.

Alison could see the nervousness and worry that was on Emily's face as she pulled away from the blonde. "Is that good? Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, Em. Don't worry about me," Ali said calmly.

Emily hesitated for a moment, looking as if she didn't know whether or not to believe Ali, and then she sighed. "Just let me know if something's wrong, okay?"

"I will," Ali promised.

Ali watched on as Emily closed the door and folded up the wheelchair before proceeding to take it to the trunk. At that moment, she couldn't stop a few tears from slipping out of her eyes at the realization of just how helpless she was actually going to be. She wouldn't be able to drive anymore. She couldn't even get in and out of the car by herself. She probably wouldn't even be able to get _dressed_ by herself now. As Emily joined her in the car, she tried to quickly wipe away her tears, but she was not fast enough.

"Ali, what's wrong?" Emily reached over to wipe away the other girl's tears with her thumb.

Ali knew there was no point in lying to the brunette. "I just hate being this helpless."

"I know Ali. I know." Emily took the blonde's hand in hers as she started up the car and began to pull out of the parking lot. Ali hoped Emily didn't notice her silent tears, but she knew the brunette did because she held Alison's hand the whole way back to her house.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Who's ready for PLL tomorrow? Tomorrow's episode is the PLL proposal. Who do you guys think it's going to be? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter of YAIN! Thanks for reading!**

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When the car pulled into Emily's driveway, it was already pretty late, but Alison had not eaten dinner yet, and she was still hungry. She hoped that Emily was too because she didn't want to inconvenience the brunette more than she already was. Emily finally let go of Ali's hand so she could get out of the car.

"Is it okay if I empty out the trunk first and then come back to carry you inside?" Emily asked as she climbed out of the driver's seat. "I'll be quick. I promise."

"It's fine," Alison said. "Take your time."

The blond girl waited while Emily emptied the trunk, taking a few trips to carry in the two wheelchairs and the shower chair that she had gotten from Ali's mom. Ali waited quietly in the car while she waited for Emily to come back for her, trying not to think of all the negative things that were now in her life. At least, she had Emily. The brunette girl should never want to speak to her again after how selfish she had been, but yet, Emily was not mad at her. Ali couldn't help but wonder though if Emily would've ever spoken to her again had she not gotten into that accident. It definitely would have been harder for her to get Emily back. Before she could really think much on that, Emily appeared beside her, scooping her up out of the car and carrying her inside. She noticed her wheelchair sitting in the living room, and Emily gently lowered her into it. An awkward silence descended over them for a moment. Alison didn't know what to say, and apparently, Emily didn't either. Then, the sound of Alison's growling stomach broke the silence, and Emily snapped to attention. "What do you want for dinner? I can make macaroni and cheese. I know you love mac n' cheese."

Ali smiled gratefully. "That sounds great."

Emily headed off into the kitchen to begin making dinner, and Alison followed behind her. However, when she reached the doorway, Alison found out that it was a lot harder to get through than it looked. She didn't pull in straight enough, and her wheel clipped the side of the door frame, turning her to the side a bit. Ali calmly backed the chair up and tried again, running into the door frame a second time. The blond girl groaned in frustration, and Emily looked up from where she had already started the mac n' cheese.

"Oh, Ali, don't worry. I got it," Emily said, making her way behind Alison to push her through the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Ali apologized to the girl behind her. "This is a lot harder than it looks."

"I know, but don't worry," Emily encouraged. "You'll get the hang of it soon."

Emily made her way back to the stove to finish making the macaroni, and Ali was content to simply watch her, finding comfort in this action that she had seen the brunette do many times before. Emily shot Alison little side smiles as she cooked, and it made Ali's heart swell to see the amount of caring that shone in the other girl's eyes. She knew she didn't deserve Emily, but she was definitely glad to have her. Ali knew that Emily was the only thing that was keeping her calm right now.

Once the macaroni was ready, Emily filled two bowls with it and took it to the dinner table. Ali followed the brunette, wheeling her chair up to the place at the table where Emily had set her bowl. She was about to start eating when Emily appeared at her side. "I'll lift you into a regular chair. I'm sure it'll be more comfortable that way."

Ali nodded, and Emily scooped her out of her wheelchair, settling her into one of the chairs at the dining room table before taking a seat across from her.

"Thank you." Ali began to eat her dinner gratefully because she was starving.

"It's really no problem. I just want you to feel comfortable, that's all." Emily smiled sweetly at her.

Ali instantly felt guilty, looking down into her mac n' cheese. "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me? I was awful to you earlier when you tried to apologize. I've been awful this whole week really. I mean, why should I expect you to trust me?"

"I do trust you, and I should've never made you feel like I didn't," Emily replied, "and maybe you were a bit awful earlier, but I love you, Ali, no matter what. Besides, after the display your mother put on outside the hospital, how could you expect me to just leave you all by yourself? You need someone to take care of you."

Normally, Ali would've bristled at the prospect of someone insisting that she couldn't take care of herself, but in this situation, she had to admit that she needed it. She was honestly just really happy that Emily still loved her after everything that happened. "Thank you, Em…for everything. I mean, this obviously can't be easy on you either."

Emily shook her head. "It's not, of course, because I hate seeing you hurt, but it doesn't matter, Ali. I know it's so much harder for you."

Ali felt her heart swell at the words, and it was in moments like these that she was sure she was in love with Emily. No one else would ever love her as much as the girl sitting across from her. The brunette always put Ali's needs first, even when Ali didn't deserve it. Like right now. Ali knew she didn't deserve Emily at all, but for some reason, Emily wanted her and no one else, and Ali knew she was stupid to have ever even considered turning the brunette girl down. "I love you so much, Em, and I want you to know that I don't care about my reputation anymore. I am so lucky to have you in my life, and I just want you to be mine, no matter what the cost. Will you be my girlfriend?"

A huge grin spread across the brunette's face. "Of course I will, Ali. I love you too."

The two of them just made small talk throughout the rest of the dinner, but all Ali could think about was the fact that Emily was her girlfriend now. It made her feel so happy to finally be with the girl in front of her after so long of fighting her feelings. Ali felt that Emily was the only one who genuinely loved her, and she was so glad she hadn't screwed everything up with the girl who had just become her girlfriend. Sitting with Emily and eating dinner felt so normal, and Ali felt completely comfortable for the first time since she fought with Emily last week. Everything felt back to normal, and Ali found herself believing it actually was, falling back into their old habits easily. It was only when Ali finished her dinner that her high spirits came crashing down again. She tried to get up to wash her bowl when she remembered. She couldn't move her legs. Emily realized what had happened immediately, and she quickly stood from her chair. "Don't worry about that, Ali. I'll get it."

Emily grabbed Ali's bowl from the table and took both of the bowls over to the sink. Ali simply sat there and waited for her to come back because what else could she do? She hoped that this would get easier for her someday because right now, she didn't think she would ever get used to having to rely on someone to do everything for her. When Emily came back into the room, Ali said, "Em, I want to take a shower."

She knew this task would probably be difficult for her, but she wanted to be clean for school the next day. Ali was surprised when Emily didn't even argue or try to warn her that it would be difficult or anything, but instead, just agreed. "Okay. Are you ready for me to carry you upstairs?"

Alison nodded, looping her arms around Emily's neck as the brunette picked her up and carried her up the stairs. Ali noticed that the extra wheelchair was waiting for them at the top of the stairs, and she knew Emily was smart for doing this. The brunette planned to use one for upstairs and one for downstairs so she wouldn't have to carry them back and forth all the time, and Ali was glad to at least save the other girl that trouble. Ali still felt guilty as she was lowered into the waiting chair. Emily shouldn't have to carry her around all the time, especially not up and down the stairs. "Are you sure you're okay with doing that all the time? I mean, won't you hurt your back?"

Emily easily brushed off Ali's concern. "I'll be fine, Ali. You're not really that heavy. Besides, I work up a lot of muscles in the pool."

Ali supposed that the other girl was telling the truth. She knew that Emily was really in shape from all the time she spent swimming, and she knew the brunette would never complain about taking care of Alison. Emily began to walk into the bathroom, and Ali wheeled in after her, smiling when she actually managed to get through the doorway without any help this time. Emily was just setting up the shower chair in the center of the walk-in shower, and Ali was so glad that Emily had a walk-in, otherwise this would be a lot harder for her. The brunette gently transferred Ali from her wheelchair to her shower chair before giving the blonde further instructions. "Okay. Undress in there, and hand your clothes out to me. I promise I won't look. Then, you can start the shower. I made sure the shampoo, conditioner, and soap are all on the ledge within your reach."

"Okay, great. Thank you."

Ali started with her shirt, easily pulling it over her head. Then, she unclasped her bra and pulled it from her body, handing these two items out to Emily. Only when she got to her pants did she realize that getting them off was going to be a bit of a struggle. She was sitting, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get up to take them off. She raised herself up with one hand and tried pulling them off with the other, but it didn't work out like she had intended. Alison sighed in frustration, realizing that she was going to need Emily's help.

"Em," Alison called out, trying not to blush. "I kind of need a little help getting my pants off. Could you come in here and lift me off the seat a bit?"

"Yeah, sure." Emily stepped into the shower, and Ali was relieved that the other girl had her eyes closed. She was sure she would be comfortable with Emily seeing her naked someday, but they had only been official for less than an hour, and she knew that now wasn't the time. Emily brushed her hands over Ali's shoulders, trying to get a sense for where the blond girl was. Ali blushed when one of Emily's hands accidentally brushed against her breast, and she quickly guided the brunette's hands down to her waist. Emily blushed furiously when she realized what she had just done. "I'm so sorry, Ali. I promise I didn't do that on purpose."

"I know, Em, relax. You are my girlfriend. You'll get to do it eventually," Ali told her.

Emily smiled before proceeding to lift Ali off the chair a bit so that the blonde could pull her pants and underwear down around her thighs. Alison then reached up to squeeze Emily's arm, letting the brunette know she could put her down. Ali didn't want her girlfriend having to hold her up any longer than she needed to. Emily obeyed, lowering Ali down into the chair and stepping back out of the shower.

"Thank you so much." Ali felt like she had said this a million times already that night, but she also found that she couldn't stop. Emily deserved all of the thanks in the world.

"It's really no problem, Ali," Emily assured her for the millionth time.

Ali found that it was a real struggle for her to get her pants and underwear off of her legs. She knew that she definitely could've used more help, but she also knew that there was no way that the brunette would be able to do it with her eyes closed. Since she didn't want Emily to see her naked yet, she had to get them off on her own, but just that struggle alone made her wonder why she even cared if Emily saw her undressed in the first place. She was just glad that the other girl waited patiently while she undressed instead of getting worried or offering to help. After fifteen minutes, Alison was finally completely bare, and she handed the rest of her clothes out to Emily. Ali was about to turn the water on when she heard Emily speak up outside. "While you shower, I'm going to run over to your house and get some of your clothes for you since you'll be staying with me for a while. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Will you get my toothbrush and hairbrush and stuff as well?" Ali called out.

"I will. I promise I'll be quick, and I should be back before you finish showering. Just call for me when you're done." Emily instructed.

Ali nodded before realizing that Emily couldn't see her. "Okay."

The blonde heard the sound of Emily leaving the room, and she turned the water on, shivering a little as she waited for it to adjust to the right temperature. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait more than thirty seconds, and then she began scrubbing shampoo in her hair. She found that showering wasn't really that hard for her, although she did have to admit that it took her longer than it usually would have. She was never one to stay in the shower long, taking no more than fifteen minutes each time, but now she found that time to be doubled because of her new situation. When she was done, she reveled in the warm temperature of the water for one more minute before turning the water off. "Em! I'm finished!"

Ali heard the door slide open, and she saw Emily appear in front of the shower, closing her eyes and holding out a red towel to Ali. The blonde pushed open the door and grabbed the towel from her, drying herself off as best as she could before wrapping it around her body. She then alerted Emily that she was ready, and the brunette opened her eyes, moving in to scoop Ali up into her arms and carry her back to the bedroom. Alison immediately noticed a fresh T-shirt and pair of pajama pants along with some clean underwear set out for her on the bed, and Emily set her down beside them. "Alright. Let's get you dressed."

Alison swallowed thickly but decided to ask Emily her next question anyway, knowing that it would be much easier for her if she allowed the brunette to help her. "Would you mind helping me put on my pants and underwear? It's hard for me to get them on my legs."

"I'll help you with anything you need." Emily was already moving to grab them. The brunette had no problem getting them on Alison's legs, and Ali felt a twinge of jealousy because she couldn't do it herself, but she pushed it away. She didn't need to be jealous of her girlfriend. Emily pulled the pants and underwear up as far as she could, and then she lifted Ali up so that the blonde could pull them the rest of the way. After that, Emily closed her eyes so that Ali could discard her towel in order to put on her bra and shirt.

"I'm going to grab a shower now as well, so do you want to watch TV or something while you wait for me?" Emily asked.

Ali nodded gratefully. "TV sounds great."

Emily laid Ali out on the bed, propping her up against many pillows and fussing over her like Ali imagined a mother would. She wished she could say that her mother had acted like this at least once in her life, but her mom had never given her the time of day. Ali wondered if this was why she didn't like it right now. She waved the brunette off. "Cut it out, Em. I'm plenty comfortable."

"Of course. Sorry," Emily muttered as she went to grab the remote. Ali hoped that she hadn't upset the other girl, but the brunette didn't appear wounded as she flipped on the television and handed the remote to Alison. Emily looked at her hesitantly, like she didn't want to leave Ali alone, but she finally relented, walking to the bathroom to take her own shower. "Just yell for me if you need anything."

Emily shut the bathroom door, and Alison heard the water start up as she flipped through the channels. She found a rerun of _Person of Interest_ , and she decided to watch that as she waited for Emily to come out. Twenty minutes later, Emily reappeared, climbing into bed beside her. "How are you doing?"

Ali turned to face her. "I'm doing fine for now. A little tired though."

"That would be because it's midnight," Emily explained, chuckling a little. "Are you ready for bed?"

Alison nodded. "Yeah. I just need to brush my teeth."

Emily nodded back and helped Ali into her wheelchair. Alison wheeled into the bathroom to find her stuff already spread out on the sink, truly making her feel a bit at home. She squirted some toothpaste onto her toothbrush and began to brush her teeth. It was only when she was ready to spit that she realized she couldn't lean far enough over the sink to successfully spit in it from her position in her chair. She tried to figure out a way to solve this problem, and she was just about to try and lift herself up a bit when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist, setting her on top of the counter so that she could easily lean over and spit in the sink. Ali blushed as she smiled up at the girl who had helped her out. "Thanks, Em."

A few minutes later found the two girl lying in bed, finally ready to drift off to sleep. They had only been lying there for a few seconds when Emily moved closer, tentatively resting a hand on the blond girl's waist. "Ali? Now that you're my girlfriend and all, would it be okay if I held you while we slept?"

"It would be perfectly fine," Ali answered.

This time, instead of squirming out of Emily's grasp like she did that summer, Alison put her hand over the brunette's, bringing it down to rest over her stomach. She linked their fingers together, and she hummed in content when she felt Emily pull her further into her and bury her face in Ali's golden curls. Ali felt so safe wrapped up in Emily's arms, and she wondered why she had tried to push the other girl away for so long. Emily loved her so much, and she felt terrible for ever hurting the brunette with her silly rules that they could only hang out in private and that they had to pretend to hate each other at school. She hoped that it wasn't too late to make it up to the other girl. She quickly shook these thoughts away, reminding herself that it wasn't too late. Emily was her girlfriend now, and she didn't intend to allow the gorgeous girl to slip away any time soon. Ali smiled to herself at this thought as she drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey, everyone! Thank you all for the favorites, follows, and reviews that you have given me thus far, and thank you to those of you who just read as well! I'm really glad that people are interested in this story. Enjoy!**

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Emily heard her alarm go off, and she blinked her eyes open to find that she still had her arms wrapped around a half asleep blonde. She turned the alarm off, focusing her attention back on the girl beside her who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The memories from the previous night came rushing back to Emily, and she tried to focus only on the good ones. Ali was her girlfriend now, and Ali loved her back. Emily didn't know if she would ever get used to that idea. She leaned down to press a kiss to Ali's cheek, and the blond girl rolled over to face her. Emily couldn't help the wide smile that spread across her face. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning, Em." The corners of Ali's lips pulled up in a small smile.

Emily could detect the pain that the statement was laced with, and she was forced to remember the not so pleasant memories from yesterday. Emily knew that it was going to be hard for her, but Ali would have to go to school, and Emily wished that she didn't have to be the one to make her.

"Are you ready for school?" Emily asked softly.

"Not really, but I'll be fine." Ali smiled, but Emily could tell that it was forced.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked, trying to give Ali a chance to talk about what was clearly bothering her.

Ali huffed, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "I'm fine, Em. Can we just get ready?"

As Emily and Ali had breakfast and got ready for school, Emily could tell that Ali was much more upset about going back than she was letting on because she barely said a word the entire time. She didn't try to make small talk with Emily or anything, and the brunette found that she was seriously worried. Emily was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when she saw Ali's eyes bug out behind her, and she wheeled quickly for the toilet. The brunette watched as Alison threw herself down onto the toilet, holding herself up with her arms as she began to throw up the food she had just eaten for breakfast. Emily's eyes widened at the scene in front of her. "Ali!"

Emily instantly raced over to the blond girl, pulling Ali into her lap so she didn't have to hold herself up. Emily looked at the blonde worriedly, pulling back her hair for her as she continued to throw up. When she finally stopped, she slumped against the brunette, and Emily grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth clean. Ali finally let out all of her pent-up emotions as she began to sob, and Emily turned her around, so she could settle against the brunette's chest. "Ali, please tell me what's wrong. Is this about school?"

"This is about everything! I don't want to go to school, and I don't want to be in a wheelchair. I just want to go back in time and prevent this nightmare from happening." Alison sobbed into Emily's shoulder.

Emily began to murmur soothingly into Ali's ear, running her fingers comfortingly through blond hair. "It's okay. You're okay. I wish I could stop this from happening too, but we both know that's not possible. How about we just skip school today?"

Alison tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I can't. Mona and Spencer are probably really worried about me. I need to go and let them know I'm okay."

Emily's brow furrowed when she noticed Ali's uncertain tone when she said this, as if she thought that her friends might not care about her, but she decided to let it go for the time being. "How about we stay home for the morning periods, and we go in around lunch time? I'll even call Spencer myself to tell her you're fine. Give me your phone."

Alison nodded, unlocking her phone and handing it over to Emily. "Okay."

Emily scrolled through Ali's contact list and chose the contact for Spencer Hastings, putting the phone to her ear as it began to ring. She didn't have to wait long because Spencer picked up right after the first ring, sounding frantic. "Thank God! Ali! I was so worried about you. There's rumors going around the school that you got into a really bad car accident. A lot of people are saying you died. Other people are saying that all sorts of things happened to you, and I don't know what to believe."

"Hey, Spencer. It's Emily Fields," the brunette said slowly, trying to keep her tone of voice gentle so as not to further upset the girl on the other end of the phone.

"What are you doing with Ali's phone? She's not dead, is she?"

"No. She's here, but the rumors are true. She did get into a terrible car accident. She can't feel her legs, so she'll be in a wheelchair from now on."

"So why do you have her phone?"

Emily tried to think of a logical explanation, not sure about how much the blonde wanted Spencer to know. "I was the one who found her. Her parents are out of town, so I'm taking care of her."

"You don't have to do that. She can stay with me at my place from now on." Spencer's voice took on a sympathetic tone. "I hope she hasn't been too mean to you. I know what she can be like, but thank you for stepping up to look after her anyways. That was very kind of you."

"I couldn't just leave her. Not like this. The reason I called though is to reassure you that she is alive of course, but also to tell you that she will probably be coming into school today around lunch time."

Spencer sighed in relief. "That's great. I can't wait to see her again."

The two of them said their goodbyes shortly, and Emily hung up the phone, turning her attention back to the girl that was in her lap. Emily noticed the tears in Alison's eyes, and she realized the blonde must have been able to hear Spencer's side of the conversation, although she couldn't think of what her friend had said that might have upset her. However, Emily didn't even have to ask because Alison let her know almost immediately. "Please don't let Spencer take me away from you."

Emily realized that this was about Spencer's offer to take care of Ali herself, and the brunette instantly began to soothe the blonde. "Relax. I promise you're not going anywhere. The only reason I didn't tell Spencer right away was because I didn't want to explain to her why you want to stay here. I figured it would be better for you if the people at school didn't know about us until you're ready."

"You're right." Alison nodded. "Thank you."

They sat in silence on the floor for a moment, and Emily decided that they needed to do something that would calm Ali down before they had to go to school. Emily knew that the only way to do that would be to take the blonde's mind off of it. "How about we go downstairs and watch a movie or something?"

Ali smiled at the mention, and Emily was glad that her idea was seemingly a hit. "That sounds great."

Emily carried Alison down the stairs and made her comfortable on the couch before wandering over to her DVD player. She didn't even have to ask Ali what movie because she already knew what the blonde's favorite was, so she pulled _Divergent_ out of its case and popped it into the DVD player. She turned back to see Ali smiling at her movie choice, and she was proud of herself for making her girlfriend happy. She grabbed the remote in order to press play before settling beside Ali on the couch, pulling the blonde into her to watch. She smiled when she felt Ali cuddle in even further. "I love you so much, Ali. Don't ever forget that."

"I love you too, Em." Ali twisted to give the brunette a quick peck on the lips before settling back against her. Emily couldn't help the dopey grin that she was sure spread across her face after that kiss.

The two of them remained cuddled together throughout the remainder of the movie, and even after it ended, and Emily turned off the television, neither of them moved, and neither of them said a word. Emily didn't want to break the moment. She wanted to stay cuddled on the couch with Ali forever, and she wondered if Ali wanted the same thing, although she was pretty sure that the blonde probably also wanted to pretend reality didn't exist. Ali fell asleep pretty quickly, clearly still tired from yesterday, and Emily could feel herself starting to drift off too. She glanced at the clock that was on the mantle and realized that they still had a while before they needed to leave, so she allowed herself to fall asleep to the sound of Ali's quiet snores.

* * *

Emily awoke to find that she and Ali were still cuddled up on the couch, and the blonde was still asleep. She turned the home screen of her phone on to see that it was nearing eleven thirty, and she knew she would have to wake Ali up if they were going to make it into school in time for lunch. She wished that Ali didn't ever have to go back because Emily knew that it would be hard for her, but she also knew that the blonde couldn't avoid it forever, so she might as well get it over with. Emily gently shook Alison awake, watching as the blonde's eyelids opened before settling on Emily's face. "Ali, come on. It's time for school. I promised Spencer that you would be there for lunch."

Ali stretched, groaning and looking like she did not want to be awake right now, but she relented anyway. "Fine. Let's go."

This gave Emily hope that maybe the blonde was not feeling so scared and dreading school as much as she clearly had been earlier. Maybe everything would work out alright. Emily realized that Alison was looking at her expectantly, and she immediately transferred the blonde into her wheelchair.

"You seem to be feeling better," she remarked as she stood up straight.

A flirtatious smile spread across Ali's face. "Well, cuddling with you definitely helped." Her smile faded a bit after she said this, and Emily could see some of the fear come back to her blue eyes. "Just don't leave my side in the halls, okay?"

"I won't, Ali. I promise."

Emily held Alison's hand in hers as they drove to school. The blonde didn't say a word, and Emily didn't push her to, content to drive in silence. Neither girl could push away their worry as they made their way to the school because they both knew that whatever happened when they arrived would not be good. When they got to the school, Emily sprung to action, wanting to get this moment over with as quickly as she could. Emily grabbed Ali's wheelchair out of the trunk and carried it to the top of the steps at the entrance to Rosewood High before going back for Ali. The blonde still said nothing as Emily carried her over to her wheelchair. Once Ali was sitting, Emily took a deep breath and turned to the doors, ready to walk inside, but before she could push them open, she felt a hand reach out and grab her wrist, pulling her to a stop.

"Wait. I'm afraid," Ali admitted.

Emily wished she could do something to help the blond girl, but she knew that whatever she had to offer was not enough. "Ali, I know people are going to tease you when you go in there, and you're not used to that, but you just have to ignore them. I promise I will try my best to keep them away from you."

Ali sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

Emily hit the handicap button on the side of the door, and the doors slowly opened so that she could push Ali through. As the two of them walked into the hallway, the people in front of them parted for them to go through, but not because they were afraid of Ali. They were seemingly in awe that she was not dead or maybe just that she was still showing her face around school. As Emily pushed Ali down the hall, conversations halted, and countless people turned their heads to stare. No one said a word, and Emily just ignored it. She wasn't used to all the attention, but she didn't let it affect her. She could tell that it was making Ali extremely uncomfortable though because she reached up to put her hand over Emily's where it rested against the handle of the chair.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." A voice from the crowd finally broke the silence.

"I never thought I'd see _the_ Alison DiLaurentis look so weak," someone else said.

"What's wrong, Ali? Are you just now figuring out that you don't rule this school anymore?" Lucas called out.

Soon, there was a cacophony of jeers and taunts, and Emily knew that she needed to try her best to put a stop to this. "Could you all please stop with the comments and just mind your own business? Leave Ali alone!"

"Oh, you got the lesbian sticking up for you now, do you, Ali? What? Is she your little girlfriend now?" a guy on the lacrosse team sneered.

Emily sighed when she realized that she had just made things worse. She was about to assure everyone that she was not Ali's girlfriend because she was sure that the blonde didn't need any added stress right now, but before she could open her mouth, Ali squeezed her hand to silence her. "Yes, she is."

Emily was shocked at Ali's admission, but the brunette had to say that she was proud of her girlfriend. Ali wasn't even trying to defend her reputation. She wasn't being mean to these kids or anything. She was just taking it, and she was telling the truth. Emily almost didn't believe that it was Ali that she was pushing down the hall. The lacrosse kids snickered at Ali's admission and made jokes, but Ali didn't do anything to stop them. Not that she really could do much in a wheelchair, but Emily was still a little astonished that she didn't even try.

"Looks like your power over everyone has run out," one of them said to Alison, shaking his head as he and his buddies headed to lunch.

Emily didn't miss the way that Alison was clearly holding back tears, and she wished for the second time that morning that there was something more she could do. She pushed Ali into the cafeteria, and it was significantly better than the hallway. People stopped and stared, but Ali didn't hold their attention long, as their food and table conversations seemed to be much more riveting. Emily glanced around the room, spotting her friends waiting for her at their usual table, but she made her way over to Spencer and Mona, figuring that Ali would want to sit with her friends instead of Emily's. The brunette transferred Ali into a regular seat at the table before sitting down beside her girlfriend, and she didn't miss the looks of concern on the faces of Ali's friends. Mona was quick to speak up. "Omg, Ali! How did this happen?"

"When I was driving home from school on Monday, this car came out of nowhere and hit me when I turned onto my street," she explained calmly.

Mona seemed a little more callous as she asked her next question. "How long are you going to be out of the popularity picture for?"

Ali took a deep breath, and Emily didn't miss the pain in her eyes as she told Mona the truth. "Forever, Mona. I'm never going to be able to walk again."

"Wow that bites. I'm glad it wasn't me." Mona said apathetically.

Spencer jumped to her friend's defense. "Mona, don't be so harsh."

"I'm not. I'm just stating my opinion." Mona blinked innocently at Spencer, but Emily could hear the malice behind the other girl's voice. Emily was puzzled. Mona was acting so cruel and uncaring now, but Emily knew she hadn't imagined the look of concern that was on the other girl's face when she first saw Ali. The swimmer didn't have long to dwell on it though before Mona was talking again.

"And what is she doing here?" Mona asked, gesturing towards Emily. "If this was changed into the losers table, I didn't get the memo."

Emily hadn't even thought of the fact that she might not be welcome at the table. She wanted to argue, but she knew that the best thing to do was just listen to Mona because Emily didn't want to cause any more trouble for Ali right now. She pushed her chair back, standing up from the table. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I'll move."

"No. Please stay." Ali pulled Emily back into her seat.

"Wait. Let me get this straight. You actually want her here?" Mona's lip curled in disgust. "I thought she was just your little servant."

No. I want her to stay here. She's my girlfriend." Ali grabbed Emily's hand protectively.

"That accident messed up more than just your legs. You've got some serious brain damage if you're dating that. I guess this _is_ the losers table now," Mona huffed, standing up haughtily and walking over to sit with the lacrosse team.

Ali stared in shock at where Mona had just been sitting moments ago. "I can't believe she's acting like this. I thought she was my friend."

Emily could see that Spencer was surprised as well, but she could also tell that Spencer was a genuine friend to the blonde when she immediately shook her head at Ali's words. "She's not really your friend if she's going to treat you like that."

"I know. I just never thought she'd be that mean." A tear escaped from Ali's eyes, and Emily gently wiped it away. She could tell that Ali really cared about Mona, and she wanted to strangle Ali's supposed friend for acting so cruelly towards the blonde.

The table fell into silence for a few moments as each of them tried to process what had just happened, and then Spencer spoke up, turning to Ali.

"I guess you still want to stay at Emily's house then, instead of coming to mine," Spencer remarked, and Ali nodded. Spencer's face took on a serious tone as she continued speaking. "Are you sure you actually like Emily though? Are you sure you're not just grateful to her because she saved you?"

Ali didn't even hesitate before responding. "I'm sure, Spence."

"Okay. I just don't want anyone getting hurt," Spencer said cautiously. "I mean, you hated her until recently."

Emily was touched that the other brunette obviously meant that she didn't want Emily to get hurt. Emily immediately saw that this friend of Ali's cared a lot more than she let on, and she was grateful to Spencer for actually caring how she felt too.

"Well, I don't anymore," Ali said, squirming a little as she was confronted with the reminder of the fake performance that the two girls had put on for years.

Spencer narrowed her eyes, looking like she knew there was something her friend wasn't telling her. She was about to open her mouth to say something more, and Emily was grateful when someone walked over to the table, calling Spencer's attention away from Ali. However, Emily's gratitude fell away when she looked up to see Noel Kahn, and she wondered what he could possibly want. She looked behind him to see Mona snickering from where she sat at her new table, and Emily realized that Mona had probably put Noel up to whatever he was going to do.

"So, Ali, I can see that you're not using your legs anymore, and Mona told me you wanted me to come and cut them off." Emily's eyes widened as the boy pulled out a knife. Emily wanted to move and fight him off before he did something stupid, but she was frozen in shock. She felt Ali slump against her, and Emily wrapped her arms protectively around the blonde as Noel brought the knife down to stab her. Emily shrieked in horror, and she could feel Ali shaking, but when the knife hit Ali's leg, no blood sprang up, and the brunette girl realized the knife was fake. It looked uncharacteristically real, and the fake blade slid into the hilt, making it look as if it had actually gone into Ali's thigh, but when there was no sign of blood, Emily realized that it was one of the fake knives that the school used in plays. Mona, Noel, and the rest of the lacrosse team started laughing hysterically, along with anyone else who had been watching, and Emily felt fury boiling through her veins. She pried Ali's arms from around her neck and stood up, punching Noel right in the face. He wheeled back, instantly bringing his hands up to his face. "Ow! What was that for, bitch?! We were only joking around."

Emily didn't back down, her voice taking on a threatening tone. "If any one of you idiots touches Ali again, I'll do a lot worse than that."

Noel just glared at Emily, looking like he was going to fight back, but Emily just watched him. He seemed to think better of it when his lacrosse buddies went back to eating their lunch, and he decided to go join them, sneering in Emily's direction before walking off. Emily tried to relax as she sat back down. She couldn't remember the last time that she had been this angry. The minute she was sitting again, Ali's arms were back around her neck, and the blonde's face was buried into her chest.

Emily tried to comfort the blonde, running her fingers through Ali's hair as she murmured soothingly into her girlfriend's ear. "Ali, it's okay. I don't think they're going to try anything like that again for a while."

After a few more seconds, Emily pulled Ali's hands away from her neck, forcing the blonde to sit up, and the brunette gently brought blue eyes up to meet hers. "Calm down, Ali. Okay? I will always protect you. Just please calm down."

Ali visibly relaxed, shooting Emily a small smile. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Ali leaned her head against Emily's shoulder, and the brunette kissed the top of her head, glad that she was able to calm Ali down from her freak-out. She couldn't believe the people at this school were treating her like this. Emily knew most of them hated her, but she had just gotten into an accident for crying out loud. Emily supposed though that many people were probably disappointed that she wasn't dead.

"Oh, no way!" Spencer burst out, shattering the quiet moment. "No way did you and Ali just meet on Monday, Emily. I know Ali, and I know she has trust issues because of the way that her parents never cared about her. There is no way that you would have been able to calm her down like that if you just started spending time with her this week, no matter how much she thinks she loves you."

Emily just sat there in shock for a moment. She knew that Spencer was one of Ali's closest friends, but she didn't expect the brunette to call them out like this. Emily supposed they were being a bit too obvious for someone who knew Alison well not to notice that something was up.

Ali let out a breath. "Okay, fine. The past few days weren't the first time we've spent time together."

Spencer looked at her expectantly when the blonde didn't say anything else. "Well, spill. When did you guys first meet? How long has this been going on?"

"I'll answer your questions, but only if you promise not to tell anyone about this," Ali said. "As far as anyone else is concerned, the first time we really talked to each other civilly was Monday, no matter how obvious Emily and I are about our lie. I don't want to have to announce to the whole school that I've been lying this entire time."

"I promise I won't tell anyone," Spencer vowed easily.

Ali took a deep breath before telling Spencer what had previously just been between her and Emily. "Em and I met freshman year. She was in my algebra class."

"Wait. Hold up. This has been going on since freshman year?! Why didn't you tell me?" Spencer asked incredulously, looking a little betrayed.

"Will you just let me tell the story?" Ali asked, dryly.

"Yes. I'm sorry. Please continue," Spencer said, her curiosity to hear more winning out.

"So freshman year in algebra, I was really struggling. I got to the point where I was desperate enough to ask for a tutor, and since I knew that Emily was getting an A in the class, I asked if she would secretly tutor me. She was a bit hesitant at first because she knew who I was, and she was aware of the reputation I had around the school, but for some reason, she agreed. I quickly showed her that I am not the girl everyone says I am. I don't know why I decided to let her see the real me, or I didn't at the time. Now, I know it's because I was clearly crushing on her. She really helped me that year, and when the class was over, I had gotten my grade up to an A. Naturally, the two of us would stop seeing each other after this was over, but the thing was I liked Emily. I didn't see her as a loser, and I definitely didn't want her to stop hanging out with me. We decided to keep hanging out in secret, and no one ever knew about it until now." Ali paused for a moment before looking at Spencer with very serious blue eyes. "That's why I can promise you that I'm in love with her. I've been falling in love with her since day one."

Spencer shook her head, trying to grasp what she had just heard. "Wow. I can't believe I never even remotely noticed this. I always thought you hated this chick."

"I guess we did a pretty good job of pretending to hate each other," Emily spoke up. "My friends were convinced that I hated Ali too."

Spencer turned her gaze on Emily. "If Ali can be this head over heels for someone, then you're probably really cool. I don't see why everyone treats you like a loser. I guess it's probably because everyone at this school is so fake."

"It's just because I'm shy. I don't talk to the popular kids, and I never join in on any pranks. You're probably right though. I don't have a fake persona, and those who do probably don't like that very much. Besides, you're pretty cool yourself, Spencer. I always thought you were some snotty, stuck-up bitch, but I can see that you are a great friend to Ali."

"Thanks, Emily," Spencer said sincerely.

Just then, Emily noticed Hanna and Aria standing off to the side, a distance away from the table, and she could tell that they were clearly trying to decide whether or not to approach the table where Emily was sitting. Emily knew they were trying to be discreet, but they were causing a bit of a scene, many heads turning to look at the two girls who were standing together so awkwardly. Emily made eye contact with them and waved them over, knowing that Spencer and Ali probably wouldn't mind the company.

"Emily, are the rumors true? I hear you're dating Alison DiLaurentis!" Hanna shouted out the minute she was within earshot.

Emily nodded in confirmation. "It's true. She's my girlfriend."

"I thought you hated her," Hanna protested with a look of confusion on her face.

Emily sighed as she launched into an abridged version of the story that Ali had just told. "I was pretending, Han. We've known each other since freshman year, and we've always loved one another. We were just afraid to admit it until this year. Just please don't ask questions or be rude right now. I promise I'll explain later, but let me just say that Ali's not the person that her reputation says she is."

Aria looked at her brunette friend in concern. "We just don't want to see you get hurt, Em."

"I won't," Emily promised, wishing they would just drop the subject until later, but also glad that her friends loved her enough to look out for her.

"You guys can sit down," Ali told the two girls. "I don't bite."

Hanna looked dumbfounded. "Really? We can sit _here_?"

Ali smiled sweetly. "Of course. You're Em's friends, right?"

"Yeah, but we're losers," Aria argued, clearly puzzled as to why Ali was being so welcoming.

"So join the club. As far as everyone is concerned, I'm a loser now too." Ali looked glumly down at the table.

"You'll never be a loser to us," Aria assured her as she and Hanna sat down.

"Yeah. You're like, a _legend_ ," Hanna said, looking as if she might faint just being in the other blonde's presence. Emily knew that her friends kind of idolized Alison, especially Hanna, because of her popularity, and she always found it kind of annoying because they would always defend Ali when Emily was pretending to hate her. Now, she was glad that they loved Ali because Emily could tell that their praise was making the blonde feel a bit better.

"I'm sure I'm not as great as you guys think I am." Ali chuckled a little and squeezed Emily's hand.

Emily could tell Alison was extremely amused by the way that her friends practically worshipped the blond girl. Emily knew that Ali probably didn't think that there were people who thought of her this way at school because the only people she really interacted with were the ones that hated her, but Emily knew that there were plenty of people in the school who idolized the blonde too. Emily had tried to tell her girlfriend this a few times before, but Ali had never truly believed her. The brunette was glad that her girlfriend was now getting to see it with her own eyes.

Hanna and Aria relaxed a bit as the five of them ate, and Emily was surprised with how well they all got along. Hanna and Aria loved Spencer and Ali, and Spencer and Ali seemed to take a liking to Emily's friends as well. Spencer even suggested they all hang out sometime, and everyone at the table was quick to agree. It was like it was meant to be. When the bell rang to signify that lunch was over, Emily found that she didn't want to leave the table, and judging by the looks on the other girls' faces, neither did they. Although Emily couldn't tell if Ali wanted to stay and talk to the girls or if she just didn't want to go to her next class. Luckily though, this class was English, which Ali and Emily had together, and the brunette could tell that they were both glad that she didn't have to leave Ali's side. Emily supposed that everyone saw what had happened to Noel at lunch because when they noticed Emily sitting by Alison's side, no one even tried to mess with her.

After English, the two girls had separate classes, so Emily dropped Ali off at her French classroom, placing a light kiss on her cheek and promising to be back for the blonde the moment that school ended. Ali swallowed thickly, but she nodded, wheeling into the classroom on her own. Emily wished more than anything that she could stay with the blonde, but she had to go to her next class. Emily found an open seat, sitting down in it to wait for class to begin. When Paige walked into the classroom, she quickly made her way to Emily's side, taking the seat next to her, and Emily had to use all of her self-control not to kill this girl immediately. She opted instead to sit in stony silence, waiting for the awful brunette to say whatever it was she needed to say.

"What are you doing with Alison? I hear you're her new girlfriend," Paige snarled.

Emily tried her best to remain calm and collected. "Yes. I'm with Ali because I love her. I already told you that."

"More like you love the popularity. Even with Alison being a loser, you're still the talk of the school," Paige said bitterly.

"And I'm sure it's not in a good way," Emily countered. "Besides, I am not doing this for popularity. Like I said, I'm in love with Ali."

Paige looked taken aback. "Why? She's in a wheelchair now. She's useless."

Emily couldn't believe the words that were coming out of the other girl's mouth. Paige was clearly deranged in some way, and Emily couldn't keep from blowing up on her, immediately losing her patience after what Paige had just said. "Ali is not useless, Paige! Just because she's in a wheelchair now doesn't change anything about her. She's still the same beautiful girl that I fell in love with freshman year. Besides, I don't love Ali for her body or her looks or her popularity. I love her for her. Why is that so hard for you to believe?!"

"Because she's a monster!" Paige began to raise her voice as well.

"Seriously? You're the monster, Paige. I can't believe I didn't see that before. I wish I had never even been friends with you at all." Emily was seething now, and she could see that everyone in the classroom was looking her way.

Paige lowered her voice, leaning in close to Emily so she would not be overheard. "I am going to kill that bitch that took you away from me, and this time, I'll make sure she doesn't make it out alive."

Emily shook her head, having nothing else to say to the other girl. "I don't have time for this."

Emily got up and moved all the way across the classroom, needing to get as far away from Paige as possible. The other girl glared at her, but thankfully did not follow. Emily was fuming, and she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down. How dare Paige threaten Ali like that? She was the reason the blonde was in a wheelchair. Wasn't that enough? Emily knew though that this just became a lot more personal. Paige wanted Emily for herself, and now that Ali had stolen her away, Paige was more determined than ever to make sure the blonde was out of the picture. Emily knew she would have to be careful of Paige, but she also knew that Paige would never try to harm her, so she intended to stick by Ali's side at all times. That way, Paige never had a chance to get at Alison. Emily brushed these thoughts aside when the teacher entered the classroom, and she turned her attention to him.

* * *

When the final bell rang, Emily sprang out of her seat, quickly making her way to the French classroom to pick Ali up. Emily was about to ask how the class had gone, but she could already tell what the answer was by the look in Ali's eyes. The blonde's face changed when Emily pushed her out into the hallway, but the brunette had already gotten the message loud and clear. Alison wanted Emily to get her home as fast as she could. Emily helped Ali pack up her books, and Emily grabbed hers in record time before they headed out to the car. Emily waited for Ali to speak as they drove, but she never did, so Emily decided that the blonde must want to wait until they were home. Once they were settled on the couch in the living room of Emily's house, the brunette finally prompted her girlfriend. "Ali, what happened?"

Emily wasn't surprised when tears began to fall from Ali's eyes, and she immediately pulled the blonde into her chest, listening as Ali began to speak through her sobs. "It was awful. Everyone made fun of me for being in a wheelchair and for being your girlfriend, and that wasn't even the worst part. People said that they wished that my accident had killed me because I'd be better off dead anyway. Then, one of the guys on the lacrosse team knocked my books off my desk, and I couldn't reach them without falling, and everyone laughed at me."

"I am so sorry, Ali. I had no idea that it would be that bad. I thought I took care of it with Noel. You didn't actually fall, did you?" Emily asked worriedly, rubbing soothing circles on the blonde's back.

Ali visibly shuddered. "No. That would've been horrible. Sean got my books off of the floor, and said he was sorry I had to go through this."

"Good. That was nice of him." Emily nodded, pausing before making a split-second decision. "You know what? Tomorrow's Friday. Let's just stay home. I think you've had enough for this week."

"Okay. That sounds great," Ali said, wiping at her tears, "but you don't have to stay home with me. You can go to school if you want to."

"Ali, who wants to go to school? Besides, I can't leave you here by yourself. I'm staying here to take care of you," Emily said sternly, leaving no room for questions.

"Thank you," Ali whispered.

"Just don't let them get to you, okay? You would never be better off dead because I love you, and I would miss you dearly, and so would Spencer. People care about you, Ali," Emily murmured soothingly.

Ali nodded, simply leaning against Emily's chest and not saying a word, and Emily decided that she wanted to take Ali's mind off the thoughts that were going through her head. "What can I do to make you feel better, Ali? Do you want me to make you something to eat? Put a movie in? Help you shower?"

The blonde shook her head. "Just hold me."

Emily kept her arm wrapped protectively around her girlfriend, playing with her beautiful blond hair. She felt so bad for the girl in her arms. No one should have to go through the things that Ali has gone through. Ever. Emily was still appalled that the people at school were treating Ali so badly. She knew a lot of people hated the blonde, but she had almost died and was now permanently disabled. Couldn't people have a little sympathy for the poor girl? Emily wished that there was something more she could do to get people to be nicer to the blonde at school, but she was almost positive that Mona was telling people to be extra mean to her, and what chance did Emily have against her? She was Mona Vanderwaal, and Emily was just little loser Emily Fields. Emily resolved that she would just be there for the blonde, even if that was all she could do.


	7. Chapter 7

Ali woke up with the feeling of Emily's arms wrapped around her. She was feeling a bit better than she had been on Thursday because she had stayed home from school yesterday, but she still hated the fact the she needed to stay home at all. She hated the way that people were being so ruthless to her, and she hated the way that Mona had turned her back on her so quickly, but most of all, she hated feeling so helpless. She couldn't even get out of bed on her own right now. She would have to either lie still and wait for Emily to wake up or wake the brunette up herself. She knew what the swimmer would want her to do, but she already felt bad that her girlfriend had to take care of her. She wasn't going to wake her up now as well.

Ali decided to try and get into her chair on her own. If she could get from the bed to the chair, then that would be one less thing that Emily had to do for her. She carefully slipped out of Emily's arms and dragged herself to the edge of the bed. She looked at the spot where the chair was waiting next to the bed, and she knew this was a bad idea, but she had to do _something_ for herself. She had to try, at least. Ali held firm to the arms of the chair and began to pull herself out of the bed and into the chair. She smiled when she realized that it was working. Then, her legs fell from the bed and acted as deadweight, dragging her down. She crashed to the floor with a thud. Emily's eyes flew open, and she began to blink the sleep out of them as she tried to figure out what had happened. "Ali! What the hell are you doing?!"

Ali sat up, frustrated with herself and immediately on the defensive. "I was tired of feeling so damn helpless, so I tried to get in my wheelchair on my own for once."

"How could you do something like that?" Anger was still boiling behind Emily's brown eyes. "Please don't ever do it again. You could've gotten hurt!"

Emily's anger only fueled Ali's frustration, and she found herself snapping at the other girl. "Have you forgotten, Em? I already got hurt. What could be worse than this?!"

Ali tried to quell her rage when she noticed the hurt look in Emily's eyes, and she took a deep breath, realizing that Emily was only trying to keep her safe. Ali instantly felt guilty, and she opened her mouth to apologize, but before she could get a word out, she was interrupted by the sound of Emily's phone ringing. The brunette grabbed it off her nightstand, checking the caller ID before answering it.

"Hey Hanna," Alison heard her say, and the blonde wondered what it was that the other girl was calling for. She tried to listen in to what Hanna was saying, but she could only hear Emily's end of the conversation. "Well, I'd have to bring Ali. I obviously can't leave her here by herself." Ali's face flushed with embarrassment when she heard that, and she chanced a glance up at the brunette to see brown eyes glaring at her. Ali instantly dropped her own eyes back to the ground, feeling a bit like a naughty child. Emily then put her hand over the mouth piece, taking her phone away from her ear a bit to speak to Ali. "Do you want to come with me to hang out with Hanna and Aria?"

No. That was Ali's immediate answer. She had liked Hanna and Aria when she met them at school, but she really just wasn't feeling up to hanging out with anyone. She wished she could just stay holed up in Emily's house forever, but she knew that was not an option, and she also knew that she needed to go with Emily today. There was no way the brunette would let her stay at the house by herself after the stunt that she had just pulled, and she didn't want Emily to have to stay behind and look after her instead of hanging out with her friends. Ali supposed that it could be fun, so she shrugged in answer to Emily's question. "I guess. Can I invite Spencer?"

Emily put the phone back to her ear, speaking to Hanna again. "Can Spencer tag along as well?" Emily nodded to Alison, and the blonde smiled a little at the thought that her friend would be there.

"Okay. See you soon," Ali heard Emily say before hanging up the phone. Ali didn't really want to go hang out today, but she decided she'd have to bear it because she didn't want to burden Emily any more than she already had.

* * *

When the two girls arrived at Hanna's house, Ali admired the outside of it. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but she hadn't thought Hanna's house would look so nice. The inside was no different, and Ali was pleased to find that Spencer was already there, along with Aria. Emily simply carried Alison into the house, leaving her wheelchair in the car. Ali knew the brunette was only trying to make her feel better, but it wasn't working. Having to be carried in wasn't any different than using her wheelchair. It didn't make her look any less weak.

When they got upstairs, Emily sat down on Hanna's bed with the other girls, placing Ali down next to her, and the blonde immediately buried her face in her girlfriend's shoulder, hoping that she could just sit there and pretend she didn't exist. This only worked for about five seconds before Aria was already talking to her. "Alison, what's wrong?"

Ali made no move to answer, and Emily rolled her eyes. "She's okay. She's just having a hard time getting used to her condition."

Spencer was quick to jump in. "Aw, come on, Ali. Just forget about that for today. We're not going to treat you any different like those freaks at school. Let's just have fun, okay?"

Ali groaned, realizing they weren't going to stop trying, so she relented, looking up. "Fine."

Hanna gestured over to the pizza boxes that were sitting on her bedside table. "We ordered pizza. What kind do you want?"

Ali just shrugged. "I'll have cheese."

"Coming right up, Your Majesty," Hanna put a slice of cheese pizza on a plate and handed it to Alison. This caused Ali to crack a smile as she thanked the other girl. She didn't know if Hanna was just trying to make her feel better or if she was still holding onto her idolization of Alison, despite the fact that she was not popular any more. Ali thought that it was probably a mixture of both, but nevertheless, she was glad for the distraction. She noticed Emily shoot Hanna a grateful look, and she knew that the brunette didn't think she noticed, but she was glad for the reminder of how much her girlfriend cared about her all the same.

After getting slices of pizza for everyone else, Hanna resumed her position on her bed. "So, do you guys want to watch a movie?"

Emily nodded in agreement. "Sure. What did you have in mind?"

Ali had to admit that she wouldn't mind watching a movie. She always loved that activity because it took her mind off of things for a while. It was like an escape from the real world, and she certainly needed that every now and then. She listened intently as Hanna next started speaking to see what movie she would be suggesting.

"How about _The Notebook_?" Hanna asked.

Aria was quick to disagree. "No. We always watch that, Han. How about something old-school, like _The Scarlet Letter_ or _Wuthering Heights_?"

Spencer nodded. "Yes. I agree with Aria."

Ali was not surprised. Spencer loved all of those movies that were based off of the books Ali would only ever read in literature classes. Spencer loved all of the classics, and Ali couldn't say that she joined in this love. She found herself agreeing with Hanna on the movie choice.

Aria smiled at Spencer's agreement, and a smug look took over her features. "Ha ha, two to one, and we all know Emily's always neutral. Looks like I win."

Hanna scowled for a moment before turning to Ali with bright blue eyes. "Wait. Alison hasn't picked yet. Her vote counts for like a million."

Aria mulled this over and then shrugged, seeming to agree. "Fine. What movie do you want to watch, Alison?"

Ali didn't know if they were giving her special treatment because of her accident or because of the power that she had previously held at school, but Ali didn't want it either way. She wanted them to see that she was no different than them, but she figured the only way that that would happen was if she hung around them more, so she gave her honest answer to the question. "I'd actually rather watch _The Notebook_ if that's okay."

Aria's shoulders slumped a little, but she didn't argue. "Yeah. That's fine."

Hanna cheered and put the movie in, and Ali smirked when she noticed Spencer glaring at her out of the corner of her eye. However, Ali hadn't just done it to make Spencer mad. She really didn't want to watch those movies that Aria had listed because she had never really cared for the classics that she had read. Besides, Ali had to admit that she loved _The Notebook_. She had watched it a lot as a kid, and she really loved the story. She had always admired the strong love in the movie and had always hoped that she would find her own someday. She thought that she might have just found that kind of strong love with Emily, and she certainly never intended to let the brunette go. She had been a fool to ever even think of it.

As Ali cuddled into Emily's side, she could tell that this was one of Hanna's favorite movies by the way she mouthed a lot of the quotes. Ali would be lying if she said that she didn't know most of the movie by heart as well, but she didn't want the others to know what a sucker she was for the film. The movie did succeed in taking her mind off of things, and by the time it was over, she felt a lot better than she had when she first arrived. So much better, in fact, that she actually wanted to hang out with Emily and her friends.

"Do you guys want to play a game?" Ali asked, and everyone looked surprised at the fact that she seemed so much more lighthearted than she had earlier.

Hanna was the first to recover from her shock. "Yes. Let's play truth or dare."

No one argued with that, and Ali found that she was actually kind of excited. She and her friends never really played games, and she knew that truth or dare was a popular game at parties. Ali could never allow herself to join in with everyone else's games though. She, Mona, and Spencer were normally holding court somewhere or flirting with some of the boys on the lacrosse team. Alison definitely wanted to play this game that she had been missing out on.

"Okay. Who wants to go first?" Hanna asked.

"I guess I will," Aria volunteered.

"Truth or dare?"

"I'll take dare."

Hanna thought for a moment before responding. "I dare you to go streaking down the street and back." Everyone burst out laughing, except Aria of course. The brunette just sat there open-mouthed, looking at Hanna in shock. Ali had to admit that she hadn't been expecting such an extreme dare either.

"Like, naked?" Aria asked, still in shock.

Hanna raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes. That's what streaking means."

Aria vigorously shook her head. "No way. There is no way I am doing that."

"You have to," Hanna told her. "If you didn't want to do it, you shouldn't have chosen dare."

Aria realized that everyone was looking at her expectantly, and she relented. "Fine."

Ali was surprised when Aria actually did it, stripping out of her clothes and walking outside. Everyone else watched from the window as Aria ran down the street and back, butt naked, and Ali could not stop laughing, thinking this dare to be extremely funny, and suddenly sort of glad she had never played this game before. The instant Aria was back inside, she put all of her clothes back on and turned to Hanna. "Alright. Your turn, Hanna. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Hanna said easily.

"I dare you to go next door and moon Mrs. Galloway while she's gardening," Aria said right away, clearly having come up with this great dare beforehand.

"What?" Hanna asked, and Ali was surprised that the blonde hadn't been expecting something like that after the dare she had just given to Aria.

"You have to do it. You chose dare," Aria teased, repeating Hanna's words from earlier.

Hanna rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. I'm going."

Hanna walked outside, and the others decided to follow, wanting a good view to make sure that Hanna actually did the dare. Ali clung to Emily as they went down the stairs, and the group stopped on the porch, hanging back as Hanna walked over to the unsuspecting old woman next door. Mrs. Galloway was watering her flowers when Hanna yelled, "Hey, Mrs. Galloway!"

The poor woman looked up to see Hanna turn around and pull down her pants, successfully completing her dare. Mrs. Galloway clutched her heat and shouted in surprise, and the four waiting on the steps snorted with laughter as Hanna ran past them into the house. The others followed Hanna back up to her room and settled back onto the blonde's bed as she scowled at all of them. "I'm never going to be able to face her ever again."

Aria just shrugged. "Everyone else thought it was funny."

The others nodded, and Hanna grumbled under her breath as Ali decided to ask the next question. "Your turn, Spence. Truth or dare?"

"I'm gonna be safe and go with truth," Spencer said, and Ali couldn't say she blamed her after the dares that had just been issued. However, Ali knew that she could think of a truth question that would make Spencer regret her choice.

"Okay, but truth is definitely not safe," Ali told her. "Have you and Toby had sex yet?"

Toby was a year ahead of them, and he was Spencer's boyfriend of two months. The blonde couldn't help but wonder if Toby had finally gotten the prudish brunette to sleep with him yet. As far as Ali knew, Spencer had never slept with anyone yet, and she was curious to see if that had changed. Ali wasn't surprised that Spencer looked uncomfortable at the question. "That's personal."

Ali just raised an eyebrow. "You chose truth. You have to answer the question."

"Maybe," Spencer said in a small voice.

Ali just smirked. "That's not a real answer."

"Okay, fine. Yes, we have," Spencer admitted, blushing, and Ali couldn't say she was surprised. The two of them did seem to be in love, and Ali was happy for Spencer about it. She was still curious though.

"How many times?"

"You only get one question," Spencer said, glaring at her. "Besides, it's your turn. Truth or dare?"

"I'll go with dare," Ali said, not feeling like disclosing any personal information in front of these people that she had just met. Besides, she knew that Spencer would never dare her to do anything as ridiculous as the dares that Aria and Hanna had come up with.

"I dare you to prank call Mona," Spencer said.

Ali's brows furrowed in confusion. "She'll recognize my phone number."

"So use someone else's phone." Spencer looked pointedly over at Aria, Hanna, and Emily.

Aria pulled her phone out of her pocket before unlocking it and handing it over to Ali. "You can use my phone."

Ali accepted the phone before looking back to Spencer for instructions. "What do you want me to say?"

Spencer shrugged. "Anything you want. It's completely up to you."

"Okay." A devilish grin spread across Alison's face as she dialed Mona's number. She had just thought of a great plan for her dare, a plan to get back at both of her enemies at once.

"Hello?" Mona answered.

"Hey. This is Paige McCullers." Ali did her best impression of Paige, hoping that she was disguising her voice enough so that Mona would not recognize her.

"That loser from the swim team?" Mona asked skeptically.

"That's me," Ali said before declaring, "I am so in love with you."

Ali saw Emily snickering beside her, and she turned the other way. It was hard enough for the blonde to do this with a straight face as it was. She didn't need Emily making her laugh and blowing her cover.

She could practically see Mona rolling her eyes through the phone. "I'm not a lesbian, and I didn't think you were either."

"Well, I am. You're so gorgeous," Ali continued.

"How did you even get my number, you little creep?" She could tell that Mona's temper was rising, and she intended to push Mona far enough so that she'd do something about it.

"I have so many hot fantasies about you," Ali pushed on, trying to sound as disturbing as possible.

Mona scoffed. "That's disgusting. Just stay away from me, you stalker."

"You don't even know the things I want to do to you right now." Ali heard Mona hang up, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she could finally burst out laughing. The others joined her, clearly having been struggling to keep their own laughter in as well.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Emily was the first one to speak up.

Spencer's eyes were shining with amusement. "I can't wait to see Mona's reaction on Monday. You know she will totally confront Paige about it."

"Oh, I know. That's why I did it." Ali handed the phone back to Aria. She couldn't wait to see what Mona did on Monday either. Her dare might have been to prank call Mona, but she had used this opportunity to bring Paige down even further than she already was. She wished she could do something more, but she didn't want to sink to the other girl's level.

"Well, Emily. You're next," Hanna said. "You're the only one who hasn't gone."

Emily nodded. "Okay. Give me a dare."

"I dare you to TP the Cavanaughs' house," Hanna said, referring to Emily's next-door neighbors.

Spencer immediately began to protest. "We are not TPing Toby's house."

"Why not?" Ali asked. "You said he was out of town with his dad this weekend anyway. The only people who will be there will be his stepmom and his horrible stepsister."

Spencer seemed to mull this over, and Ali could tell she was thinking about it. "Jenna _is_ a huge bitch."

"Wait a second. If we do this, we have to go all the way back to my house," Emily whined. "Can't I just TP one of your neighbors' houses instead?

Hanna scoffed. "All the way to your house. It is like a three minute drive from here. I'll drive if you want, and I can even supply the toilet paper. It's like my mom has an endless supply of the stuff. She won't miss one pack. Or at least, I hope she won't."

"You have to do it," Spencer told Emily, and Alison nodded in agreement. Everyone else did their dares, and she knew it would be hilarious to watch her girlfriend perform her own.

"It sounds like fun too," Ali added.

"Okay, fine. Let's go." Emily huffed, scooping Alison off of the bed to head to the car. On the way out, Hanna grabbed two packs of toilet paper from the supply closet.

Emily gave her an incredulous look. "Seriously, Hanna? Two packs of toilet paper?"

"What? We need enough to TP the house really good," Hanna argued.

Emily just shook her head, and Ali smiled, realizing that she really liked this other blonde and wondering why she had never allowed herself to hang out with Emily's friends before. The way that she had held her reputation so highly before was seeming sillier to her every day now, and she realized that she would've been much happier if she would've just allowed herself to be a normal girl.

* * *

When they arrived at the house, Emily got out Alison's wheelchair and placed in on the lawn, setting Ali down in it so that she could watch. Hanna, Aria, and Spencer stood beside her as Emily pulled a roll from the first pack of toilet paper. Emily threw the roll over the top of the house, and Hanna wiggled in excitement. "I have to get in on this."

Hanna ran up to grab a roll, not being able to resist getting in on the dare that she had created. Aria and Spencer looked at each other and shrugged, going forward to pick up their own rolls. Ali decided to grab a roll too, throwing it over the house like she had just watched Emily do. Soon, Emily grabbed a roll and tied it to the highest branch of one of the small trees in the front yard, and then she beckoned to Ali. The blonde wheeled over and accepted the roll that Emily held out to her. She squealed in surprise when Emily began to push her around and around the tree, winding the toilet paper around it as they went. Ali let out a chuckle, and Emily shot her a genuine smile. The two of them did the same to the other trees in the yard while Spencer covered the bushes that lined the front of the house, and Hanna and Aria wound it around the porch rail and posts and covered the table and chairs. Before they could finish with the last few rolls, the porch door opened, and everyone looked up in alarm. Ali's shoulders slumped in relief when they realized that it was Jenna, who had been blinded by some accident before she moved to Rosewood. Hanna and Aria carefully crept off of the porch as Jenna called out, "Who's there? Is someone there?"

Ali smiled deviously as she grabbed another roll from the bag and threw it at Jenna, hitting her right in the face. No one could contain their laughter as Jenna fell onto her butt, so they all got away as quickly as they could, hoping that Jenna couldn't pick up on who had been there from the sound of their laughs. The five of them ducked into Emily's house for cover so that they could finally laugh freely as they all fell onto the couches.

"That was so much fun!" Hanna exclaimed once their laughter had died down.

Spencer nodded. "I agree. I had a great time."

"Yeah. Thanks for inviting me, guys," Ali said. "I definitely needed that. I had a blast!"

Aria smiled at her. "No problem. It was definitely fun having you and Spencer along."

Emily looked down at her watch before turning her attention back to the group. "Well, it's like 7. Do you guys want to head back to Hanna's to get our cars?"

"Yeah. If you don't mind." Spencer looked to Hanna.

"That's fine with me," Hanna said.

"Do you want to come with us, Ali?" Emily asked.

"No. I think I'll stay here," Ali told her.

Emily gave her a disapproving glance. "Ali."

Ali's gaze softened as she realized that Emily was just worried about her. "I'll be fine, Em. I won't do anything stupid. I promise I won't move from this couch."

"Okay, fine," Emily relented. "I'll be back soon."

Ali said her goodbyes to everyone, and then she was left to her own devices. She turned on the TV, flipping through the channels to try and find something halfway decent to watch. In the end, she settled on some movie that she was only half-paying attention to. She settled back into the couch to get more comfortable, and she felt her eyelids begin to droop. She realized that she was feeling a bit exhausted, and she tried to stay awake, wanting to wait for Emily to come home, but after ten minutes, she found that she couldn't as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When Emily finally got back from Hanna's house, she found Ali sleeping peacefully on the couch with the TV on. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. She had been worried about the blonde the whole time she was away, and she knew that she would have to learn to let her girlfriend be on her own some, but the stunt that Ali had pulled this morning was still fresh in her mind. She contemplated on whether she should wake Ali up or not to see if the blonde was hungry, but she decided against it, thinking that the other girl looked too calm to disturb, and so, she turned the TV off so that the blonde could sleep more comfortably. Emily made herself a quick dinner, eating quietly before retreating up the stairs to her room.

When she came back downstairs that night, Emily was surprised to find her girlfriend still asleep on the couch. She would've thought for sure that the other girl would be awake by now, but it seemed that Ali was tired and would be out for the night. Emily carefully picked her up and carried her up the stairs, laying her out on the bed and placing a tender kiss to her temple before climbing onto the mattress behind her. As Emily snuggled into her girlfriend, she thought of how nice today had been, for herself as well, but mainly for the blonde. Ali had been so carefree today, in a way that Emily hadn't seen since before the accident. Emily thought that this day might have been the most carefree that she'd ever seen Alison before at all, and the thought made her smile. As the scenes from today played on the backs of Emily's eyelids, she made a mental note to try and get Ali to hang out with her friends as much as she could. She wished that nothing bad had ever happened to Alison, but as she could not go back in time and prevent the accident from happening, she would have to settle for doing whatever she could to make it easier for Ali now. Emily buried her face in Ali's golden curls and tangled her legs with the other girl's in order to feel closer to her, even though she knew the blonde could not feel it.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you all enjoyed the more lighthearted chapter this time, but I have to say that it is the calm before the storm. Thank you all for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Enjoy! Or perhaps enjoy isn't exactly the right word for this chapter, but I hope you like it all the same.**

* * *

When Alison and Emily got to school on Monday, Ali was surprised to find that hardly anyone even glanced in her direction. She thought maybe that things had quieted down a bit, and maybe people would just leave her alone from now on. This thought was short lived though as she realized that everyone's gaze was trained on Mona who was storming down the hallway with a furious expression in her eyes. Ali shared a smile with Emily when the two of them realized that Mona was heading straight for Paige, and they both moved closer to watch.

The clicking of Mona's heels on the tile floor was quickly replaced with shouting when she stopped in front of Paige. "Don't you ever call me like that again, you little creep! How did you even get my number?"

Paige looked truly oblivious as to what was going on. "What are you talking about? I don't have your number."

Mona rolled her eyes. "Stop with the lying, loser. You called me this weekend."

Paige looked at her incredulously before answering. "I did not."

"You did. You told me you were in love with me," Mona huffed, and Ali could tell she was losing her patience.

"I did not," Paige insisted again. "I'm not even a lesbian."

"Oh, right," Mona scoffed, not believing a word that the other girl said.

Mona turned to everyone in the hallway then, calling for their attention in true Mona fashion. Ali had to stop her eyes from rolling because everyone around already had their full focus on Mona, but the blonde was not surprised that Mona wanted to make sure everyone's eyes were on her.

Mona raised her voice so that everyone in the hallway could hear. "This girl here, Paige McCullers, for those of you who don't know, is a lesbian. She called me on the phone this weekend and told me that she was in love with me and that she has hot fantasies about me. That was gross enough, but when she started telling me how I didn't even want to know the things she wanted to do to me, I immediately hung up. I don't know how she got my number, but that was the creepiest thing ever I've ever experienced! I just wanted to warn you all to stay away from Paige because she is a creepy stalker, and I wouldn't want any of you to become her next victim. That's all."

Mona stormed away, and student life resumed as normal, except now everyone in the hallway was giving Paige disgusted looks, not even bothering to try and hide them. Paige looked shocked and horrified, like she couldn't believe what had just happened, and Ali found that she couldn't hold her laughter back any longer. She looked up at Emily to find the brunette already laughing as well, and she couldn't help laughing louder at this discovery. When Alison looked back at Paige, she saw the brunette glaring at her and Emily for laughing at her. Ali tried to wipe the smile off her face, but Paige's angry glare was only making Ali want to laugh harder. She gave Paige a smug look, nodding to the girl, and Paige just shook her head at the blonde and her girlfriend before heading off down the hallway.

"I still can't believe you did that," Emily said to me through her laughter once Paige was gone.

"I know, but I'm glad I did. I mean, I expected Mona to confront her, but I totally didn't expect her to make this big of a scene," Ali said truthfully, "although I should have. I mean, this is Mona we're talking about."

"I'm glad you did too. Paige totally deserved it." The smile had not left Emily's face.

"I know," Ali said as the bell rang. She looked back to Emily with a playful smirk. "Take me to class?"

"Of course, my lady," Emily said jokingly, and Ali laughed again as her girlfriend began to push her down the hallway.

Ali and Emily stopped at the blonde's locker, and the brunette helped her get her books together before setting off down the hallway again. When Ali reached her class, she was pleased to find that no one even glanced in her direction as she carefully made her way to a desk that had been set up for her near the front. Everyone was talking about what had happened with Paige and Mona, so they didn't even acknowledge Alison, and the blonde sighed in relief. This was just another reason to be happy that she had made that phone call.

* * *

At the end of the day, Ali was still sitting in her algebra 2 classroom waiting for Emily to pick her up, but the brunette was late, and Ali was starting to get worried. Normally, Emily was there for her almost the minute that class let out, but today, it had already been five minutes, and the brunette hadn't shown up. Ali figured her girlfriend could've stayed after class to talk to her teacher, or maybe she had even stopped at her locker first, although Ali knew that wasn't likely.

The blonde sat in the quiet classroom. It felt as if she were sitting in an abandoned church, a place that should be filled with people, but was eerily quiet save for the students going by outside. Ali's classmates had long since filed out, and the teacher had even left by now. He asked Ali if she needed assistance or wanted him to stay, and she assured him that she would be fine because she had thought that Emily would not be far away. Now, however, she was thinking of leaving the room on her own and battling the crowds herself because she was worried that something had happened to Emily. She knew that the girl was only in her pre-cal class, and that wasn't exactly dangerous, but what if she had gotten hurt in the hallway? Or worse, what if Paige had done something to her as well? Ali was just about to move towards the exit when she saw the door open, and her shoulders sagged in relief. Until she saw that it was not Emily who had opened the door, but Paige. The blonde didn't let the horror that she felt play out on her face as she carefully schooled her features to look angry and unafraid.

"Go away, Paige," she snarled. "Emily will be here any moment."

Paige walked in with a confident stride, carefully shutting the door behind her. "I took care of that. I should have a good ten or fifteen minutes."

Ali's heart dropped at this news, and she felt as if the floor had just been torn from under her. She found it harder to keep the fear that she was feeling off her face, but she did, making sure to keep her voice calm and rolling her eyes for good measure. "Fine. What is it that you want?"

"Alison, I know it was you who called Mona this weekend. I mean, it had to be." Paige took a threatening step forward.

Ali didn't even flinch, a smug smile taking over her features. "Yes. It was me. And?"

"That was a horrible thing to do. You are a terrible person, Alison." The blonde could see that Paige was seething now, and she felt her own blood begin to boil.

"I'm the horrible person?! I know you caused my accident, Paige. Are you forgetting that you were the one who put me in a wheelchair?" A blue fire was blazing in Ali's eyes.

"You deserved everything you got," Paige spat.

Ali raised an eyebrow, her voice calm but deadly. "Why? What did I ever do to you?"

"You stole my Emily. She used to have feelings for me, but you came along and took her away from me," Paige explained, sounding like a whiny child.

Ali couldn't help but be glad that the other girl had brought this up, and she felt the nastiness rise up within her. "She was never yours to begin with. I noticed the way you looked at her, and I told her to pretend to love you so that no one would ever suspect that there was anything going on between the two of us. I can't believe you thought she'd ever have feelings for an asshole like you."

Paige stayed completely silent with a look of absolute rage, but Ali was on a roll, confident enough that she wasn't even afraid anymore. She found that the best way to take losers down was to hurt them, and she could tell by the look on Paige's face that she had done just that. When Paige made no move to say anything more, Ali began to make her way to the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Before the blonde was able to make it out the door, Paige grabbed her wheelchair from behind, pulling her to a stop. Ali tried pushing the wheels harder to pull herself from Paige's grasp, but her chair wouldn't budge. She tried to keep the panic off her face as she raised her voice in a threatening manner. "Let me go, Paige!"

Ali was surprised when Paige didn't even try to argue, simply shrugging her shoulders at the blonde. "Okay. If that's what you want."

Ali should have known Paige did not mean what she said, but Ali would've never interpreted the words the way that the brunette girl intended. Paige dumped Ali from her chair, and the blonde cried out in surprise as she fell to the ground with a thud. She gritted her teeth as pain shot up her right arm, and for a moment, she was afraid it might be broken or something, but she breathed a sigh of relief when the pain subsided, realizing that she had only hit her funny bone. Ali pushed herself up with her arms, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't even sit up without a struggle since she was sprawled out on her stomach, and she refused to let Paige see her struggle with anything, so she lowered herself back down to the ground.

"Well, come on, Alison," Paige said with an amused smirk on her face. "Get back up into your chair."

Ali's head spun when she realized what Paige wanted her to do. There was no way she could get herself back up into her wheelchair from her position on the floor, but she didn't want to do what she was sure the other girl wanted her to either, which was admit defeat. However, it would be worse for her to try to do something that she knew she would only fail miserably at, so she succumbed to what she had to do, answering Paige in a whisper. "I can't."

Paige smiled sadistically. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

Ali blinked back a few tears, but she spoke louder this time. "I can't get up. Are you happy now?"

"Would you look at that? I never thought I'd see the all-powerful Alison DiLaurentis look so weak and helpless," Paige taunted, and then her voice turned serious as she crouched down to look Alison in the eyes. "You're really just completely useless, aren't you? It would've been better for everyone if you had just died when you got in that car crash. Now you're just a burden on everyone around you. I mean, you're bringing Spencer's popularity way down. Hanna and Aria can't even hang out with Emily without her bringing you along. And most of all, you are a huge burden on Emily. Instead of doing the things that normal teenagers like to do, she gets to devote all of her time to taking care of you, and judging by the looks of you, I'd bet that takes up her every waking minute. You're just this huge weight dragging her down, and you don't deserve her."

Ali just laid there in shock because as much as she wanted to ignore every word out of Paige's mouth, she knew that the other girl was right. She was taking up all of Emily's time, and the brunette didn't deserve that. Emily's entire world now revolved around Alison, and it shouldn't be that way. Ali was supposed to be Emily's girlfriend, not a huge burden dragging her down. It wasn't fair to the brunette. Ali would have to find someone else to take care of her. She could call her mom and plead with the woman to come back or perhaps pay for a nurse to look after her. That way, she would not be so incredibly needy around her girlfriend, and Emily could just get on with her life.

"You will never deserve Emily," Paige snarled before standing up once more and kicking Ali hard in the side. The blonde gasped, blinking back tears at the pain that burst out on her side, but Paige didn't stop there, kicking her again. Ali thought that maybe she was supposed to ask Paige to stop, so she tried pleading with the horrible girl. "Please stop, Paige! That hurts!"

However, this did not even faze the brunette as she pulled her foot back again. Ali could practically feel the bruises forming on her skin as she began to cry, hoping that Paige did not break her ribs, and she prayed to whoever might be listening that Emily would get there soon.

* * *

Emily hurried down the hallway after class, trying her best to navigate through the crowds and get to Alison. She had completely forgotten to tell her girlfriend that she needed to speak to her teacher after class, and she only hoped that Ali would not be mad at the brunette for making her wait. Emily hoped that Ali hadn't tried to leave by herself, knowing how hard it would be to navigate the halls in her chair. Emily rolled her eyes when she felt someone grab her arm, pulling her to a stop. She tried to keep the exasperation off her face as she turned around to see Lucas.

"Hey, Emily. Could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

Emily tried to keep her tone as nice as she could as she talked to the boy who had helped Paige carry out her awful plan. "I would love to stop and chat, Lucas, but I have to go pick up Ali from her algebra 2 class. I'm already late enough as it is."

Lucas looked down at his feet. "Listen, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I did to Alison. Paige had been wanting to try that tactic out for weeks, and I only gave in that day because Alison was being really mean to me, and she made me furious with her. I shouldn't have done it though. I'm really sorry that I hurt her."

"Look, Lucas. You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should be apologizing to Ali," Emily told him, her features softening as she realized that the boy might not be all bad.

"Okay. I guess I could do that, but what should I say?" Lucas looked up at her nervously.

"What you just told me. Tell her that you really didn't mean to hurt her and that she just made you mad that day. Tell her Paige was the one who wouldn't stop bothering you about it, and you wish that you wouldn't have given in to her. Maybe tell her you will try to talk to anyone you know about not being mean to her and teasing her. Stuff like that," Emily suggested.

He nodded in agreement. "Okay."

A small smile formed on Emily's face. "I'm going to get her right now. You can come with me if you want."

"I would like that," he said, returning the smile.

Emily turned to continue down the hallway, getting ready to walk as quickly as she could to get her girlfriend when she heard Lucas call out behind her. "Wait!"

Emily turned back to face him, not able to keep the annoyance out of her voice any longer. "What now?"

"I'm afraid," he admitted.

"Of Ali? Oh come on." Emily rolled her eyes at him. "She's in wheelchair for crying out loud. It's not like she can get up and hit you."

"You're right. Sorry," he said.

"Now come on." Emily started off down the hallway again.

When Emily realized that Lucas wasn't following her, her first reaction was to be surprised that she had even noticed in her haste to get to Ali, but her second reaction was to turn around to look for him. She saw him standing right where she had left him, a smug smile on his face.

"I can't believe you actually thought I would be _sorry_ about what I did to Alison." His face twisted into a wicked grin. "She deserved to get in that accident, and she deserves to be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. At least she can't torment people anymore. I've always hated that girl more than anything. How could you think that I would actually be sorry about what happened?"

"Maybe because I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and not assume that you were just as twisted as Paige," Emily growled. "Why even bother with the fake apology then? Why do you suddenly hate me? If I remember correctly, we used to be friends. I'm glad to know that your friends mean so much to you, Lucas. If you're just doing this to mess with me because I am dating Ali, then save it. I already know you hate her."

"I didn't do this to mess with you. Paige asked me to distract you so she could get some alone time to talk to Alison," he explained.

Emily's head spun as she realized what this meant. She had vowed to never let Alison out of her sight, to keep her safe from Paige. Now, not only had she left Ali all by herself in her classroom, but she had fallen for Lucas's stupid distraction. Emily didn't even want to think about what Paige might be doing to Alison, and fury sparked in her eyes as she looked right at Lucas. "You were stalling me?!"

"Yes, and I'm happy it worked because Paige was pretty furious. She knows it was you guys who made that call to Mona pretending to be her. She said she was going to make Alison pay." Lucas grabbed his chin thoughtfully, pretending to think. "I wonder if she's killed her yet."

Emily shook her head at Lucas in disgust before sprinting down the hallway to the classroom where she knew that she would find Ali. When she pushed the door open, she was alarmed at the sight in front of her. Ali was crying, sprawled out on the ground, as Paige kicked her hard in the side. A white hot rage spread over Emily, and she didn't even hesitate before jumping into action, throwing Paige away from Alison.

"Stay away from my girl!" Emily shouted, punching Paige right in the face.

The awful girl looked up at Emily with rage-filled eyes. "You're lucky you came in when you did. I was tired of listening to her cry, so I was just about to kill her."

Emily couldn't believe how twisted this girl really was. "You're sick, Paige. I can't believe I was ever your friend."

"You're the sick one, Emily. You pretended to have feelings for me only for me to find out that you're in love with this monster." Paige gestured to Ali, who had stopped crying and was now just lying silently on the ground.

"She is _not_ the monster, Paige. Last time I checked, she was the one on the floor crying while you kicked her. There's not even a question in my mind as to which one of you is the monster," Emily spat angrily.

Paige simply glared at Emily for a few seconds, looking like she wanted to say something else, but it seemed that she could not think of a good enough comeback, or she simply did not want to argue with Emily anymore, so she stormed out of the room. Emily's shoulders slumped in relief, and she ran over to crouch beside Ali, pulling the blonde into her arms to comfort her. She knew Ali was trying her best not to cry, but she didn't miss it as a few tears slipped from the blonde's eyes anyway. Emily carefully felt over Ali's ribs, and the blonde gasped in pain. Emily quickly apologized, relieved to find that Ali's ribs felt intact. The two of them then sat in silence for a few minutes before Emily finally broke it. "Are you ready to go?"

Ali nodded, wiping her tears on Emily's shirt.

"Are you feeling better now?" Emily dared to ask, and she wasn't surprised when Ali shook her head. She knew it was probably too soon to ask the next question, but she asked all the same. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Another shake of the head. Emily carefully lifted Ali back into her chair, but as the two of them packed up for the day and headed for the car, Emily couldn't help but worry about Ali. The blond girl had been answering in head nods and shakes since Emily had rescued her from Paige, and she really wished that her girlfriend would answer with words. That didn't happen though, and they rode home in complete and utter silence. Even when they got home and Ali wanted to sit on the couch, the blonde didn't speak, simply gesturing to the couch to let Emily know what she wanted. The brunette complied, moving Ali to the couch and sitting down beside her, but Ali completely ignored her, pulling out her history book to begin working on her homework. Emily could see that she wanted to be left alone, but she was deeply troubled by the fact that Ali hadn't even met her gaze since the incident with Paige.

"Ali, what's wrong? Will you look at me, please?" Emily asked, trying to keep the desperation that she was feeling out of her voice.

Alison didn't even glance up from her homework. It was as if she couldn't even hear Emily at all. The brunette tried to tell herself that Ali's behavior was due to the trauma that Paige had put her through, and while she was sure that was part of it, she was also pretty sure that wasn't the entire reason because it seemed like something else was bothering her. Emily racked her brain to try and think of something she might have done that could've made Ali upset with her, and she settled on one thing. She hoped that Ali didn't blame her for what had happened. She had been the one to leave Ali alone after all. Emily wanted to ask about it, but she knew now wasn't the time, so she decided to give the blonde some space, retreating up to her room to start some homework of her own.

When it was time for dinner, Emily decided to make something special. One of her favorite recipes was her grandmother's lasagna recipe, and so she had mastered it years ago. She knew that this was one of Ali's favorite foods, so she decided to make it for her.

After Emily was done cooking, and everything was all set up, she went back into the living room for Ali. The girl didn't look at her, but she nodded when Emily asked if she could take her to the table. When they were sitting down, Emily began to eat, but Ali didn't even make a move to eat at all.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Emily asked her, but Ali simply stared with vacant eyes.

Emily was really at a loss as to what to do. "Come on, Ali. You love lasagna. I know you do."

Ali still had that same blank stare, and Emily pushed out of her seat, walking around the table and crouching down beside her girlfriend. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but her main priority at the moment was trying to get the blond girl to eat. She grabbed a piece of lasagna with Ali's fork and held it up to the blonde's mouth.

"Come on, Ali. Please eat. For me," Emily pleaded.

Emily was surprised when Ali simply opened her mouth and accepted the lasagna. The brunette stayed quiet after that, afraid that if she talked, then Ali would stop accepting the food, and she kept feeding Alison until the food was gone. It was only then that she allowed herself to speak again, looking up at her girlfriend with grateful eyes. "Thank you, Ali."

Unsurprisingly, Ali didn't respond. Emily brought Ali back to sit on the couch before she went back to finish her dinner alone. Once she was done though, she found that she didn't want to leave Ali alone again. She quickly rinsed off the dishes, placing them in the sink, before going out to sit on the couch with Ali, where she was calmly watching TV. Emily just sat there silently for a few moments before she thought of something she could say. "Do you want to take a shower, Ali?"

Ali sat on the couch, unmoving, and Emily was afraid that she wasn't going to answer, but after a few minutes, she gave a barely perceptible nod and turned off the television. Emily took this as her cue to carry Alison upstairs, and so she did. She wished that the blonde would simply talk to her about what was going on, but she didn't want to pressure the other girl, lest she stop communicating with Emily at all, so she simply placed Ali into her shower chair, waiting for the blonde to hand out her clothes.

Emily waited for at least two minutes, but no clothes came out. She tentatively pulled back the curtain to see Alison just sitting in the shower, still fully clothed. Emily sighed, knowing there was nothing else to do but help Ali out of the clothes herself. Alison had to be somewhat expecting this because she did not react to it at all. Emily gently pulled the blonde's shirt over her head before unclasping her bra. Ali's cheeks tinged pink, but she did nothing to stop Emily. The brunette continued, pulling Ali's pants and underwear off, a feat that was not easy without Ali helping her, but she managed. Emily couldn't help it as her eyes raked over Ali's body, even though this was not the time to be doing such things. The blonde was gorgeous, but Emily could tell that she was only making Ali more comfortable, so she quickly averted her eyes, turning on the water and stepping out of the shower.

Emily brought Ali's clothes into her bedroom, throwing them into her laundry hamper before making her way into the bathroom, not surprised to find that Ali hadn't made a move to begin washing herself. The brunette knew she would have to go in there with her girlfriend to help her wash up, and she considered changing into her swimsuit, but she decided against it. Ali had no clothes on, and so Emily should feel comfortable being naked in front of her girlfriend as well. After pulling off all of her clothes, Emily stepped into the shower and began to wash Ali's hair. She could feel Ali's eyes on her as she worked, but the blonde still would not meet her gaze.

After Ali was thoroughly cleaned, Emily turned off the water, grabbing a towel and drying Ali off with it. Once Ali was dry enough, by Emily's standards, the brunette wrapped the towel around her and carried her into the bedroom, setting her on the bed before searching for something comfortable for her to wear. Settling on a loose T-shirt and a soft-looking pair of sweatpants, Emily dressed Alison in these as well as some clean underwear before bringing the girl back into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Emily sat Ali on the counter and squeezed toothpaste onto the blonde's brush. She was about to start brushing Ali's teeth for her when the blonde took the toothbrush from her and began to brush her own teeth. Emily almost fell over in shock, and a smile spread across her face at the sight of Ali doing something for herself again.

Once Ali had finished brushing, Emily brought her back out to lie down on the bed, making sure that she looked comfortable before handing her the TV remote. Ali didn't take it though, waving Emily's hand away and closing her eyes. Emily realized that the blonde wanted to go to sleep, so she quickly grabbed her shower stuff and headed for the bathroom, turning out the light for her girlfriend.

Once Emily was done showering and getting ready for bed, she slowly creaked open the bathroom door to find Alison fast asleep. She turned off the bathroom light and tiptoed around to her side of the bed, trying her hardest not to wake her girlfriend. There was no way for Emily to prevent the bed dipping underneath her weight when she climbed in though, and she cringed when Ali started to stir. Blue eyes fluttered open, and they finally, finally focused on Emily's brown ones. The brunette let out a sigh of relief before greeting the blonde with a tentative smile. "Hey. Are you feeling a little better now?"

Ali nodded slightly. "Thank you for taking care of me all day. I'm sorry I made you do that."

"You don't have to apologize," Emily said sincerely. "Do you want to tell me what made you so upset now?"

"It's just something that Paige said. She told me that I'm just a huge burden on you because you have to devote all of your time now to taking care of me. And it's true. Everything she said is true. I'm taking up every last minute of your time. You can't even go hang out with your friends now without having to bring me along. Maybe it _would've_ been better off for everyone if I had died in that accident," Ali said sullenly, unable to meet Emily's eyes as she spoke.

Emily's lips pulled down in a frown, unable to believe the words that were coming out of Alison's mouth and wishing she could kill Paige for even putting the idea in the blonde's head. She adopted a stern tone of voice, but kept her eyes soft as she answered her girlfriend. "Don't ever say that again, Ali. I would've been heartbroken if you had died in that accident. It wouldn't have been better because I would've lost the person I care about more than anything else in the world. And you're not a burden either. Sure, it can be hard sometimes, and everything is completely different now, but it is a _privilege_ for me to be able to take care of you. I love you, and I love having you around at all hours of the day, and I love taking care of you."

Ali looked up at Emily with shocked blue eyes. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do. You're my girlfriend, and I love you more than anyone else in the entire world." Emily leaned over to give her a quick peck on the lips, relieved that she had finally gotten to the root of what had been upsetting the other girl all day.

"I love you, too. God, I love you so much right now." Ali pulled Emily back in for another kiss, but this one was not quick, nor was it chaste. It was heated and passionate, and Emily had to stop herself from rolling on top of the blonde, like she so desperately wanted to do. Ali bit down lightly on Emily's bottom lip, and the brunette had to stop herself from moaning at the feeling, not wanting to make her girlfriend uncomfortable. She wanted the kiss to go on forever, but Ali pulled back after a few moments, locking her eyes onto Emily's again for several long seconds before speaking again, her distress clear on her face. "Paige was so horrible to me today. She dumped me onto the floor, and she started kicking me, and I just wanted to get up and run away, but I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything really. I felt so helpless, and I was so scared. Then, she started saying all these things about how I'm useless, and I'm sorry that I believed her."

"It's okay, Ali. It doesn't matter what Paige thinks, and you are not helpless. You can still do plenty of things on your own, like your schoolwork. You still do that just fine, and I'm sure you get way better grades than Paige does anyway. Besides, you are smart and fun and totally sweet, and if you just showed your true self to everyone around you, I know they would all agree. Paige is the useless one. And if you ever find that you can't do something by yourself, I will always be right here to help you." Emily was sure that the love she felt for the blonde lying next to her was shining in her eyes.

"Thank you. I could never have asked for a better girlfriend than you." Ali smiled warmly, and Emily chuckled when the blonde yawned shortly after.

"You should get some sleep. You had a rough day."

Ali nodded in agreement. "Okay. Good night, Em."

"Good night, Ali."

Ali snuggled into Emily, and the brunette pulled her as close as she could, looping an arm around the blond girl's shoulders as she laid her head on Emily's chest and draped her arm across the brunette's stomach. Emily placed a tender kiss on the top of Ali's head, and she could not even begin to express her relief that the other girl had finally told her what had been bothering her. Paige was sadistic and evil, and Emily could not believe the things that she had been telling Ali. Emily was happy that they had seemingly gotten through the trauma of the day, and she swore that she would never let Paige anywhere near her girlfriend again.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Happy PLL Day, everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter's a little shorter than usual, but at least we got not just one, but two cute Emison scenes in tonight's episode! Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

Alison took the next day off again, not wanting to go back and face Paige so soon. She spent a nice day home with Emily, but the day after that, she didn't even see Paige at school. She wondered if the girl had stayed home or if she was simply off plotting Ali's destruction somewhere, but the blonde didn't care. It seemed that the talk of Paige's encounter with Mona had died down, and the jeers and taunts were being thrown at Ali again. She tried to ignore them as best as she could, knowing that she was just lucky Paige wasn't there. However, the worst didn't come until later.

After second period, Alison intended to make her way to her locker by herself today to hopefully surprise Emily. She tried to be quick so that Emily would not find her first, but it seemed she was too late, as she felt the brunette come up behind her and begin pushing her chair.

"Hey, Em." Ali greeted. "How was history?"

"It's Mona, not Emily," the person behind Alison spoke up, and Ali felt her blood freeze, wondering what Mona was up to.

The blonde was instantly on the defensive. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just giving the people what they deserve." Mona's tone was light and airy, but Ali could detect the malice underneath the statement.

Ali knew that she was defenseless against Mona, and so she simply sat back, deciding to at least see what it was that Mona wanted before she tried to struggle. When they reached the end of the hallway, Mona put the brakes on Ali's wheels, and the blonde turned to give her a questioning glance, but before she could fully glimpse the brunette's face, she felt her hands being roughly pulled behind her back, and Mona's voice in her ear made the hairs on the back of Ali's neck stand up. "You are a horrible person, Alison."

"What's going on?" Ali cringed when she heard the uncertainty in her own voice.

Lucas stepped up in front of her. "I don't know if you know this, but I was the one who made your accident possible. The entire school wishes you had died, and if you had, I would be a hero right now."

Ali stared past him at the army of losers Mona had rounded up that were standing behind Lucas. They were all people who Ali had mocked and been cruel to in the past, and now here they all were, standing in front of Ali like a hit squad, and she was their target. For a moment, no one moved, and then Cindy and Mindy stepped forward with their arms crossed over their chests in an angry manner.

"You've been calling us gayrons for two years, and it turns out that you're the gay one after all. How strange," one of them mocked.

"We get it now that you were just picking on us to feel better about yourself like the lowlife you are," the other one spat.

Ali was surprised that they didn't stop there. The one who had most recently been speaking stepped forward and smacked Ali hard across the face. She bit back a cry of pain, and she struggled to get her hands free from Mona, wanting desperately to punch this bitch right back. After a few seconds though, her initial rage passed over, and she calmed down, thinking of Emily. Her girlfriend wouldn't want her to hit these losers, even if they hit her. Ali had been mean to them for years, after all. Emily liked it when she was kind, when she was herself. Ali's cheek burned where the nerdy girl had slapped her, but at that very moment, Emily pushed through the crowd before whirling around to fix them all with a glare, brown eyes blazing.

"What the hell is going on here?! She's in a fucking wheelchair! Isn't that enough for you?!" Emily yelled, and Ali jumped at the other girl's tone. She had never heard Emily use the F bomb before. The people to whom Emily was speaking didn't seem all that effected though, simply watching the brunette to see what she would do next. Ali was at least grateful that Mona finally released her hands, and she shook them out in front of her.

Then, Ali watched, a little shocked herself, as Emily's entire demeanor changed, her eyes taking on a soft look as she rushed over and knelt beside her girlfriend. "Ali, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ali tried to brush off the other girl's concern, but she knew that Emily wasn't buying a word.

The brunette reached up to cup Ali's wounded cheek, and Emily's eyes hardened again when she saw Alison wince. She pushed up from the ground, turning her gaze to the crowd again. "How could you do this to her?"

The crowd didn't even seem fazed, and Ali knew what they were thinking. They were doing this to her because she had basically done the same thing to them for years, and they were tired of it.

"Wow, Ali, you've got your little girlfriend here to stick up for you now?" Ali heard someone sneer, and she should've known they'd start to taunt her about her girlfriend now that Emily was here. The brunette put her hand on Ali's shoulder, but it did nothing to protect the blonde from the losers in front of her.

"Haven't you heard? Ali can't do anything for herself anymore. Her girlfriend literally does everything for her," another voice said.

"She's totally useless," someone else snarled.

Ali was taken aback by the honesty in what was being said. She knew she wasn't useless. Emily pointed that out to her two nights ago, but Emily did have to do a lot for her now because she could no longer do it on her own, and she really wished that people would stop pointing these things out to her. Ali turned her head into Emily's stomach, and the brunette turned further into her girlfriend, wrapping a protective arm around the blonde. Ali tried to block out the jeers that were coming her way, and Emily was about to yell at the people around them again, but she was interrupted by a familiar voice before she could.

"What is wrong with you people?!" Alison lifted her head to see Spencer pushing through the crowd. "You all say that Alison is so awful, but you're proving yourselves to be no better than she was. In fact, you're worse. I mean, open your eyes. You're picking on a disabled girl in a wheelchair. Now, seriously, if you know what's good for you, get lost!"

The people around them might have made a spectacle of Emily's attempt to defend Ali, but they were scared shitless at the sight of an angry Spencer. The crowd dissipated quickly, many people rushing off silently to their next classes with wide eyes. Other people made sure to apologize to Spencer before running off down the hall. Even Mona left with narrowed eyes. Ali smiled to herself at the realization that even though Spencer hadn't abandoned Ali, she still had a lot of cred at this school. Clearly, everyone was still afraid of her, and Ali was glad to see that Spencer hadn't lost her popularity because of her blond best friend.

Spencer walked over to Ali with concern shining in her eyes. "Ali, what happened?"

"Cindy—Mindy—I don't even know who it was, but one of those psycho bitches hit me," Ali told her, finally feeling tears well up in her eyes; she didn't let them fall though, blinking them back before anyone had the chance to see them.

It seemed that Spencer had caught sight of the unshed tears though because her voice adopted a soothing tone. "It's okay, Ali. We'll put some ice on it."

"No, Spence. Go to class. We'll be fine," Alison assured, not wanting Spencer to have to miss class for her.

The brunette just shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere."

The three of them made their way to the cafeteria, which was deserted, save for the lunch ladies at the counter that were preparing the day's lunch. Spencer knelt down beside Ali while Emily went to ask the lunch ladies for an ice pack. The two of them sat there in silence, simply watching Emily, and Ali accepted the ice pack from her girlfriend once the other girl brought it back over. The three of them just stood there in silence for a few long minutes before Spencer finally spoke up. "What happened back there?"

Emily answered for Ali before the blonde could even open her mouth. "Mona brought a band of losers over to get back at Ali. When I got there, they were all saying awful things to her and apparently smacking her around as well."

Ali could tell that Emily was still angry by the way she was pacing back and forth with her arms crossed and her lips pursed. Spencer raised her hands in exasperation when she heard Emily's answer to her question. "I can't believe this! Maybe I should take you to your classes from now on. No one should approach you while I'm around."

Ali hesitated at Spencer's offer, and she looked warily at Emily. Ali would rather her girlfriend take her to class of course, but Spencer was right. If she took Ali to and from her classes, no one would even dare mess with the blonde. It would not only keep Ali away from Mona and her goons, but it would keep Paige away as well. The blonde could tell that Emily was thinking the same thing, but she didn't look happy about it.

"It's fine, Ali. I agree. Spencer has a reputation around here, and I'm just a loser. No one will bother you with her around, but I'm just making it worse," Emily said in a sorrowful tone, looking down at her feet.

Ali's face settled into a scowl. "Don't say that, Em. You know I don't care what people say."

"It's not about what people will _say_. It's what some people might _do_ that worries me, and I don't want you to get hurt because of me." There was no doubt in Ali's mind as to who the 'some people' that Emily was referring to might have been. "Let Spencer take you to class from now on. It'll be better that way. Besides, you'll see me at lunch, and of course at home," Emily winked, and Ali couldn't help the blush that settled over her cheeks.

Spencer opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, another familiar voice spoke up, and the blonde turned to see Hanna striding into the cafeteria. "What are you guys doing here? You're supposed to be in class."

Emily raised an eyebrow skeptically. "We could ask you the same thing. Last I checked, you had a class to be in too."

Hanna shrugged. "I'm hungry. I came to steal a cookie." Hanna's brows furrowed as she noticed the ice pack that Ali was holding. "What happened to your face, Alison?"

"Some kids cornered me after last period, and one of them hit me." Hanna looked like she was going to say something more, but Ali cut her off. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Of course, Ali, but I'm sorry this happened to you. Despite what everyone here thinks," Hanna said with a distasteful grin before her features smoothed out again, "you don't deserve to be treated this way."

After Hanna stole one of the cookies in the basket at the counter while the lunch ladies had their backs turned, she came back over to sit with the others while she ate it. The four of them didn't talk much, and Ali didn't talk at all, too caught up in her thoughts. Her brain was still reeling with what had been said about her earlier. Could she really do nothing for herself?

After third period ended, Spencer and Hanna went to their next classes, and Alison found herself in Emily's car, the two of them going home again instead of back to class. Ali knew that this was something they had been doing a lot lately, and she knew she needed to stop at some point and just suck it up, but right now, she didn't think that day would ever come. The drive home was made in silence, Ali's head lying in Emily's lap and Emily playing with blond curls with one hand while driving with the other.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So a bit of a shorter chapter this time as well. I'm sorry these last two chapters have been so short compared to the others, but I promise that the next one will be longer. Enjoy!**

* * *

It took Emily a long time to convince Ali to come to school the next morning. The brunette wished that she could just allow the blonde to stay home every day, but they had already missed too much school. Emily knew exactly why the blonde didn't want to go to school today, even if the other girl wouldn't admit to it. A bruise had formed on her cheek from where she had been hit yesterday, and Ali was afraid that everyone would make fun of her for it. Emily shared in this fear; in fact, she knew there was a very high likelihood that people would make fun of Ali for this, but the two of them couldn't keep missing school like they had been.

The minute they walked through the doors, the taunts started up again, and Emily wished that there was something she could do to stop all of this. That was the thing though. There was nothing she could do. Ali's best bet was to go to class with Spencer, so of course, that was what they would be doing from now on. Emily would just take Ali to her first class, and Spencer would take over for the rest of the day. That was how they had decided to do things. Ali's soft hand clasping onto Emily's own hand finally drew the brunette back to the present, and she listened in to what some of the people were saying.

"So, it's true. Cindy was bragging yesterday that she hit you, but no one believed her. I never thought I'd live to see the day when _the_ Alison DiLaurentis looked so weak."

"Hey, Alison. How does it feel to get hit by someone you like to classify as a nerd?"

Emily wheeled Ali down the hall as calmly as she could, her face not betraying an ounce of the anger she felt at the things they were saying. She knew that the best thing to do was ignore them because if they didn't get the rise that they wanted, they would eventually begin to leave Ali alone. When the two girls stopped in front of Alison's locker, Emily reached up to put in the combination, but she was stopped by a hand on her arm. She looked down to see determined blue eyes looking back up at her. "I can do it."

"Are you sure?" Emily tried not to let the concern she felt into her voice.

"Yes, Em. It's not that high of a reach." Emily tried not to flinch when she heard the annoyance in the blonde's tone. Ali reached up to put her combination in just fine, opening her locker to reach for her chemistry books, but when she pulled them out, some of her other books went crashing to the floor. Emily quickly bent down to pick them up, carefully placing them back into Ali's locker for her. When she looked back down at the blonde, she was surprised to see Ali wearing such an angry expression, and when the other girl began speaking, Emily was taken aback at the biting tone of her voice. "Would you stop doing everything for me? I could've done that myself."

Emily rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. "Or you could've fallen out of your chair and gotten hurt."

Ali rolled her eyes right back. "I'll never know if you don't let me try."

Emily tried not to let her shock play out on her face as she heard the angry tone of voice with which Ali was speaking to her, and the brunette felt her voice rise as she continued to speak. "I'm just trying to help."

It was at that moment that Ali practically exploded. "I don't need your help! Just leave me alone!"

Before Emily could even get a word out in response, Ali was already wheeling off down the hallway, heading to her classroom alone. Emily immediately felt hurt, and she tried to blink away the tears, which had started pricking at her eyes, as quickly as she could, not wanting anyone else in the hallway to see the effect that Ali's harsh words had on her.

As Emily pushed the hurt away, she felt anger begin to bubble up inside of her. How dare Ali speak to her like that? She had devoted every single moment of her time to taking care of Alison recently. She was letting the blonde stay in her house, and she did everything for the other girl that she could no longer do on her own. Emily did everything she could to make sure her girlfriend was comfortable, and this was how the other girl repaid her? Maybe she should be glad that Spencer was taking Ali to her classes today for more than one reason. She wasn't sure she wanted to see Ali if the other girl was going to treat her like that.

* * *

When Emily got to the cafeteria later that day, she noticed Ali sitting at her usual table with Spencer. Emily stood awkwardly off to the side for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to go over there and join them, but when Ali made contact with her girlfriend, she immediately looked away. Emily felt anger and hurt flood through her again, and she decided not to go over and join the blonde. The other girl obviously didn't want her around anyway. She couldn't believe how ungrateful Ali was being. After everything Emily had done for her, she was going to yell at the brunette for trying to help and then avoid her altogether.

Emily slowly made her way over to the table that she used to sit at with her friends. She stared sulkily at her sandwich while she waited for the two of them to arrive. When she finally saw Hanna and Aria pop into the lunchroom, she waved to catch their attention, beckoning them over to join her at the table. The two of them looked extremely confused, but they walked over to sit beside Emily anyway. The minute Hanna sat down, she was already asking the questions that Emily knew she would ask. "What's going on? Why aren't we sitting with Alison?"

Emily looked down at the table, avoiding her friends' curious gazes. "Because we had a fight this morning."

Aria's voice took on a sympathetic tone. "What happened?"

Emily took a deep breath before trying to explain as calmly as she could. "I was just trying to help her this morning, like I always do, and she got mad at me. She yelled at me in front of everyone and said that she could do it herself and told me to leave her alone. After everything I do for her. Seriously, you think she'd be a little more grateful."

Hanna was already shaking her head. "Listen, I know it's hard for you to take care of Alison and even to watch her go through this, but you have to understand that it is so much harder for her. Just think about it for a second. She's used to being in control of everything and having power over everyone, and now she can't even walk on her own two feet. Think of how hard it must be for her to accept that there are a lot of things she can't do on her own anymore."

"I know that, Han, but I don't think she fully understands that yet. There are some things that she just cannot do on her own anymore," Emily protested.

Hanna was quick to argue. "I don't think _you_ understand that you need to make sure that you allow her to do everything that she still can do. I know it's easy for you to just want to do every little thing for her right now, but that just makes her feel more helpless than I'd assume she already does. You need to allow her to try to do things for herself unless it is something that she absolutely can't do, and if she needs help with something, you need to let her come to you about it. You can't decide for her what she can and can't do. She needs to figure that out on her own."

Emily felt like she was now seeing the entire situation in a different light, and she realized what a jerk she had been to be mad at Ali about the whole thing. Maybe she was smothering the blonde, and she felt extra bad when she realized that part of the reason that Ali felt so helpless might be because of her.

"You're right," she said to Hanna. "I have been doing everything for her. Even things that she could probably do by herself with ease. I guess I've just been really worried about her. I mean, I almost lost her in that accident, and I don't want to see her get hurt."

"That is perfectly understandable, Em, but Hanna's right." Aria put her food down to focus her full attention on Emily. "You need to let Alison do things for herself, and you shouldn't worry so much. Alison is strong, and she's not stupid. If she can't do something without getting hurt, she'll let you know. I promise."

Emily nodded glumly. "You guys are right. I'm just making everything worse. She probably hates me right now."

Aria was quick to reassure her. "She doesn't hate you. She's just annoyed and frustrated. I can't imagine how hard this must be for her. I think you just need to talk to her, and I'm sure she'll come around."

"I hope you're right," Emily said. "I'll talk to her after school."

* * *

At the end of the school day, Emily waited outside for Ali to appear. The longer she went without seeing the blonde, the more she worried that her girlfriend might have gone home with Spencer. Emily could see why the other girl might want to because she was sure that Ali was fed up with her constant care at the moment. Right when Emily was about to give up and head home, she saw Spencer making her way out of the school, pushing Ali in front of her. As soon as the brunette spotted Emily, she made her way over to greet the other girl.

"Sorry we're late. Ali needed to talk to one of her teachers," Spencer explained.

"It's fine, Spencer. I didn't mind waiting," Emily said.

"Well, I'm off Ali Duty for today," Spencer joked. "She's all yours."

Emily looked at the other brunette shyly. "She hasn't asked to go home with you?"

Spencer's brows furrowed in confusion. "No. Why would she?" Emily was about to explain when she saw a look of recognition cross over Spencer's face. "Is this because of the argument you two had this morning?"

Emily was surprised that Spencer even knew about the argument, but only for a second. She had told her own friends about it, after all. Why shouldn't she expect Ali to do the same? Emily simply nodded in answer to Spencer's question, her eyes finding their way to the ground.

"Don't worry about that. Ali loves you, although I'm sure you'd rather hear that from her." Spencer looked pointedly at her best friend before turning back to Emily. "Think you can handle this from here? I've got to get to field hockey practice."

"Of course." Emily nodded.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, then," Spencer said.

Emily and Ali said their own goodbyes to Spencer, and then the sporty brunette turned back into the school to get changed for practice. For a few moments, the blonde and the brunette simply sat in silence before Ali finally got the courage to speak up. "I'm sorry about this morning. I just lost my patience, and I snapped, but I had no right to treat you that way."

"Actually, you kind of did," Emily argued. "I've realized that I have been smothering you, and I'm sorry. If I want this relationship to work out, then I need to let you do everything by yourself unless there is something that you absolutely cannot do. I was just worried, that's all."

Ali's gaze softened even more. "You don't need to worry about me, Em. I'll be fine."

Emily felt much better knowing that Ali didn't hate her and that everything was alright between them, but even with Ali's reassurance that she would be fine, Emily still couldn't help her worry. "Just promise me you'll let me know if there's anything you need help with? That you won't do anything stupid?"

Emily thought she could detect a trace of humor in blue eyes as Ali made the promise. "I'll let you know, and I promise I won't do anything stupid. I'll be very careful."

Emily got the feeling that Ali was mocking her a bit with her words, but the brunette found that she didn't care. She realized that Ali's playful tone helped to take away a bit of Emily's anxiety, and it reassured the brunette even better than a serious promise would have. She leaned down to kiss her girlfriend, sure that her love was shining in her eyes. "I love you, Ali."

"I love you, too," Ali murmured against her lips.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I am happy to announce that this chapter is a more lighthearted one, which I'm sure will be nice after the last few angsty chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

The sound of a phone ringing jolted Emily awake. She groaned in annoyance at whoever was calling for waking her up. Seconds later, Ali's head shot up from its previous position against Emily's chest, her eyes wide.

Emily reached over and grabbed the phone off the nightstand. "I've got it."

She guided Ali's head back down to her chest as she looked at the caller ID, realizing that it was Hanna. The other thing she realized was that it was nine in the morning, which Emily considered to be too early to be awake on the weekends.

"Hanna, why the hell are you calling at nine AM on a Saturday?" Emily asked as she put the phone to her ear.

"Well, someone's grumpy this morning," Hanna chirped, sounding all too awake. "I was just calling to see if you guys wanted to come to the King James Mall with me and Aria. We already invited Spencer as well, and she's coming."

Emily looked down at where Ali rested against her chest, not wanting to do anything that the blonde wouldn't approve of. "I don't know. I don't think Ali is up to going out today. She's had a rough week."

"All the more reason for her to get out of the house and have fun. Come on, Em. It'll be so much funner if you come too," Hanna begged.

Emily should've known that Hanna wouldn't let her out of this that easily. She tried to think of something else she could say to avoid coming and maybe catch another hour or two of sleep, but she couldn't think of any good excuses, so she just sighed. "Fine. I'll be there. What time?"

"Can you be there in two hours?" Hanna asked.

"Sure. I'll see you then."

"See ya."

Emily hung up the phone, and the first thing she noticed was that Ali had picked her head up and was now looking down at Emily with a disapproving gaze. "Where did you commit me to going at 9 on a Saturday morning?"

"Hanna invited us to the King James," Emily explained calmly.

"No way. Do you know how hard it will be to move between all of those clothes racks in a wheelchair?" Ali protested.

Emily gave her a knowing look. "Ali, there is plenty of room between clothes racks. I promise. What's the real reason?"

Ali looked up guiltily, realizing that she had been caught trying to lie about why she didn't want to go, and now she had to tell the truth. She glanced away. "I won't be able to buy anything. It would take me forever to try things on, and I don't want to make everyone feel like they have to wait on me. I used to love going to the mall, and I don't need to be reminded of yet another thing that I can no longer do."

Emily guided Ali's chin up to meet her eyes. "Ali, I can take you to the mall any day if you want. All you have to do is ask, and we can go, just you and me. You know that I won't mind waiting for you to try on clothes. I'll wait all day if you want me to. Just please come with us today because I already promised Hanna that we would go."

"No. You promised that you would go," Ali pointed out. "I'll just stay here and relax. I promise I'll be fine by myself for the day."

Emily gave Ali a disapproving glance. "I am not leaving you here all by yourself. What if something happens, and you need me here? I know you're going to say that you can take care of yourself, and I know you can, but accidents happen, Ali, and I don't want you to be alone just in case."

"Nothing's going to happen. What could possibly happen?" Ali asked.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. What if you fall trying to get onto the couch or something? You can't just lay there on the ground and wait for me to come back."

"I won't fall," Ali promised, "and even if I did, I could easily call you."

Emily couldn't believe how persistent Ali was being about this, and while she found it a bit adorable, it made her wish that she hadn't committed to going in the first place. "Ali, what if you can't reach your phone? I don't want to risk it." A smirk settled across Emily's face when she thought of something that might make Ali a bit more eager to come with her. "Besides, I might need someone to help me try things on."

Ali's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. I'll go, but I'm not going to be happy about it."

"Thank you." Emily kissed her forehead.

"Now, let's get ready. We only have two hours." Emily winked at Ali, smiling when the blonde rolled her eyes.

* * *

Emily and Ali got to the mall five minutes late because right when they were about to walk out the door, Ali tried again to convince Emily to leave her home. However, Emily wouldn't budge, and so she dragged a reluctant Ali to the mall with her. She really hoped that Ali didn't feel like Emily was being too persistent, but Emily didn't want to have to worry about Ali the entire time she was away. The time that Ali had fallen to the ground while trying to get into her wheelchair on her own played over and over in Emily's mind, and she didn't want to risk Ali getting hurt while she wasn't there. She would feel much safer with Ali in front of her where the brunette could keep an eye on her.

Hanna started speaking the moment they were in hearing range. "Hey, guys. Where were you two? We were waiting here for like forever."

Emily rolled her eyes, a little strung out from the events of the morning. "We're only five minutes late, Hanna. Get over it."

"But you're never late. You're always like five minutes early," Hanna pointed out.

"Now that I have to help Ali get ready, it takes a little longer. Besides, Ali really didn't want to come, and she tried to talk me out of bringing her, but I couldn't leave her by herself, and now she is in a mood with me, so thank you for that," Emily spat irritably.

"Looks like she's not the only one in a mood," Hanna said under her breath, but Emily still caught the words and glared at her friend.

Aria put her hand on Ali's shoulder. "Don't worry, Ali. It's going to be really fun. We'll make sure of it."

Ali forced a smile that probably looked genuine to everyone else, but Emily saw right through it, and she wished again that she hadn't forced the blonde to come when she so obviously didn't want to.

"Let's not just stand here." Spencer broke the silence that had settled between them. "Let's shop."

The five girls went straight to the women's section of Forever 21, Hanna's favorite store, immediately looking over all of the outfits that were there to choose from. Emily found herself relaxing now that she was in the store, and she found herself having fun. When she found a few outfits she liked, Emily went to try them on, and with the other girls' stamp of approval, she decided to buy a few things. Aria and Spencer got a couple outfits too, but Hanna got about five, unable to choose just one or two. The whole group found this to be funny. Well, except for Ali. The blond girl didn't really look at any outfits. Nor did she really talk to the other girls unless they spoke to her first. Emily tried to go over and talk to her girlfriend a few times, but she could tell that the blonde was mad at her because Emily received no response. Now that they had been there for over an hour, and each of them had gotten some good outfits, Emily figured that it was time for her to take Ali home. She was just about to open her mouth when Aria beat her to it. "Now that we've bought a few outfits, let's play a game. We can all dress up in the most fashionable things we can find, no matter how expensive, and have our own little fashion show. We can even make it into a competition. Ali can be the judge."

Ali seemed to think this over before nodding slowly. "Okay. That sounds fun."

Emily shot Aria a grateful smile. She knew that Aria had only suggested this game because she had realized how bored Ali was, and now she had come up with a way for everyone to have fun, even Alison. Emily was definitely happy that Aria always knew what to do to make someone feel better. That was one of the things that made her a great friend.

Spencer was nodding at the prospect of the game as well. "That sounds fun, but you can't just pick Emily every time, Ali. You have to give us all a fair chance."

"The only way any of you will get a fair chance is if you take me out of the competition," Hanna said smoothly.

Everyone laughed or rolled her eyes, but all of them knew that it was true. Hanna's fashion sense was definitely the best. They decided to go to a different store with more expensive items, so they headed across the way to Saks. Emily scoured the aisles for something that she might like, and she found an 18,000 dollar coat. Her eyes widened at the price tag, but as they weren't actually buying anything for this game, she took it off the rack before wandering off to find something else to wear with it. The game progressed in this manner, and it was especially funny to Emily to see how Hanna and Aria reacted whenever Ali picked either of them as the winner of a round, even though Hanna had been so confident earlier that she was going to win. They looked as if they had been complimented by the queen, which Emily supposed, to them, they had. One time, when Ali told Hanna that she looked the best, Hanna responded with, "Thank you, but I'll never look as good as you."

Ali smiled and let out a faint laugh. "Hanna, have you forgotten the fact that I'm in a wheelchair? You definitely look better than me right now."

Hanna cocked her head to the side. "So? You're still beautiful. No one could ever look as good as you."

A bit of a blush spread over Ali's cheeks. "Thanks, but it's not true."

"Oh, it's definitely true, Alison." Aria was quick to jump to Ali's defense. "You don't rule the school for nothing."

Emily thought that Ali was about to point out that she did not rule the school anymore, but she clearly thought better of it because she just smiled in response. Emily wondered why she didn't, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she knew as well as Emily did that she would always rule the school in Hanna and Aria's eyes.

After twenty rounds, the five of them decided to end the contest, and no one was surprised to learn that Hanna won after winning eight rounds. Emily was surprised, however, that she came in second with five. She didn't think her fashion sense was good at all, but she was happy to find that Ali liked it. Spencer came in last with three rounds won, and she was already complaining and accusing Ali of cheating. "Ali, that wasn't fair. You made me come in last on purpose. There's no way that I lost to everyone."

"Oh come on, Spence. I've seen my grandmother wear some of those outfits that you chose. You're lucky you even won any rounds at all," Ali said with a smirk, and the other three couldn't help but laugh in agreement.

"Those outfits were really stylish," Spencer mumbled in her defense, and Ali just shook her head. Emily had to agree with Ali on that one. Spencer definitely had the most awful fashion sense out of the five of them.

"Well, that's enough playing around, guys. How about we get to the reason we really came here?" Hanna suggested.

"Oh wow. You know, I totally forgot about that, but you're right." Aria nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

Emily's brows furrowed in confusion, knowing that she was clearly missing something. "Wait. What's the reason we really came here?"

"Homecoming is on Friday," Hanna explained, looking at the brunette as if this should be obvious. "We need to pick out our dresses."

"Yeah. Come on." Spencer began to head out of the store.

With all that had been going on, Emily had completely forgotten that Homecoming was this week. She hadn't even thought about asking Ali to go with her or whether the blonde would even want to go, but she hoped that her girlfriend did. Emily would be really excited about going with a date for the first time. She eagerly followed the others through the mall to find a suitable dress shop.

"I'm definitely going to have to approve of what you pick, Spencer. No dresses from the 1800s," Ali teased on the way.

"Ugh. Stop it. Those outfits weren't that bad." Spencer turned to the rest of the group. "Were they that bad?"

Emily grimaced a bit at the thought of them. "They were pretty bad."

Ali snickered beside her, and Spencer huffed, walking faster in order to catch up to Hanna, who was currently leading the way. Once they reached the shop that Hanna was leading them to, they all walked up and down the aisles, looking at everything that was on the racks. Aria was the first to find a dress that she wanted to try on. It was a strapless dress with red and black stripes, and Emily had to admit it looked nice on her. The short brunette opted to go with that one, and Emily turned her attention back to the racks, searching for something that she wouldn't be opposed to wearing. After a few minutes, a strapless royal blue dress caught Emily's gaze, and she grabbed it off the rack. She held it up for her girlfriend, who was at the other end of the aisle, to see. "What do you think of this dress, Ali?"

Ali's eyes lit up at the sight of it. "I think it would look extremely hot on you. Blue is definitely your color."

Emily dipped her head shyly. "Want to help me put it on?"

"Sure," Ali said easily.

Emily was glad that Alison seemed to be in a much better mood than she had been in earlier, and the brunette knew she had Aria and that creative little game she had come up with to thank for Ali's change of mood. When Emily and Ali stepped into the changing room, Emily started to undress. She knew that Ali was staring, but she didn't really mind as she slipped the dress on and looked back to the blonde with a small smile. "Zip me up?"

"Of course." Ali moved closer to zip up the back of the dress.

"How do I look?" Emily asked.

"Gorgeous." Ali smiled. "That is definitely the dress that you should go with."

"Thank you," Emily said, unable to stop the heat from rising to her cheeks at the compliment.

Emily walked out of the changing room and modeled the dress in the three-way mirror that was set up in the hallway. She nodded at her reflection, knowing that this was the dress that she wanted to go with. The other girls all approved of it as well, and that just made Emily all the more sure that she had made the right decision. She caught Ali's gaze over the other girls' heads and felt all the familiar emotions when she saw the blonde wink at her.

Spencer was the next one to model an outfit. She had chosen a black V-neck dress that was surprisingly stylish. Even Ali and Hanna approved of it, and Spencer smiled with pride. After Spencer, Hanna modeled her dress. Everyone approved, but Hanna decided that there was something about it that just wasn't quite right. When she was on her third dress choice, Emily could tell that the others were getting a little restless by the way that Aria was clicking her nails against the hanger of the dress she had chosen, and Spencer was tapping her foot against the ground. Emily couldn't say that she didn't want to get out of here too because they had already been there for four hours, and she could only hope that Hanna decided that she liked this dress.

"No. I don't think this is the right one for me," Hanna said to her reflection.

Emily had to suppress her groan. "Hanna, how about we go and look for some dresses for you to try on, and then you have to pick out of our selections?"

Hanna considered this for a moment. "You can only choose the best of the best."

Aria smiled at her. "Of course."

The four friends were released into the aisles to try and find something for Hanna. Ali and Emily even split up to look because everyone was that desperate to leave now that they had all found their dresses. Emily might be less eager to leave if Hanna wasn't being so ridiculous, but all of the outfits she had tried on thus far had been perfect, and Emily knew her friend well enough to know that they could be here all night for an occasion like this. Emily scoured the racks for something that she thought Hanna might like, and she stopped when a light pink mermaid dress caught her eye, pulling it off the rack and bringing it back to the changing room where Hanna was waiting. While Hanna went into the changing room to try it on, Emily went back out into the store to search for Ali, and she came across the blonde staring longingly at a red one-shoulder dress. She wondered if maybe this was the dress that Alison wanted to wear to the dance. Emily spoke to make her presence known, jolting Ali out of her thoughts. "You should wear that dress to Homecoming."

"I'm not going to Homecoming." Ali looked up into Emily's eyes, and the brunette could tell that the other girl wanted to go.

Emily's brows furrowed a bit. "Why not?"

Alison's eyes fell to the ground again. "I can't even dance. I'll just get in everyone's way. But you should definitely still go. I'll be fine at the house for a few hours."

"Ali." Emily shot her girlfriend a disapproving glance.

"Don't worry about me. You should go and have fun. I'll only bring you down, Em, and you shouldn't have to spend your whole night looking out for me. You should find yourself a date who has legs that actually work." Ali sounded miserable, and Emily could feel her heart shatter at the tone.

Emily was quick to guide Alison's eyes back up to meet hers, speaking in a serious tone. "Ali, I would never want to go with anyone but you."

Ali swallowed thickly, looking into brown eyes, perhaps to see if Emily meant what she said. She seemingly found what she was looking for though because a smile spread across her face, and she nodded. "Thanks, Em. That means a lot."

"Now, will you please go to Homecoming with me?" Emily asked.

Ali playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine. I would love to go with you."

Emily leaned in for a quick kiss. "Great. Now, let's go try this dress on."

The brunette found the dress in Ali's size, pulling it off the rack, and she handed it to her girlfriend to hold as the two girls made their way back to the changing room. Emily was relieved to learn that Hanna had finally decided on a dress, opting to go with a pale blue lace dress that Aria had selected for her. Hanna nodded to the dress in Ali's hands. "That dress is beautiful, Alison, but I still think that this one is more me."

Emily rolled her eyes at her friend. "It's not for you. It's for her. Ali needs a dress too, you know."

"You guys can head out if you want to," Ali told them. "It might take me a while to try this thing on."

Hanna immediately shook her head. "No way. You've basically been waiting on us the entire time, Alison. The least we can do is wait for you to try on your Homecoming dress."

Aria and Spencer nodded in agreement, and Emily shot them all grateful looks, knowing that they were responsible for the shy smile that was spreading across Ali's face.

"Thanks, guys," the blonde said.

Emily and Alison entered the changing room, and it was certainly a struggle to get Ali into the dress, but after a good fifteen minutes, Ali was looking into the mirror on the wall, and Emily had to admit that the blonde looked beautiful in that dress. "You look incredibly hot in that dress, Ali. Red is definitely _your_ color."

Ali smiled at the repetition of her previous words about Emily's dress. "Thanks, but I don't look as hot as you in yours."

Emily wanted to argue with the blonde, but she knew that it could take a while to prove her point, and she knew that the others were still waiting outside, so she reached for the door. "Let's go show our friends."

When Ali emerged from the dressing room, the other girls, Hanna and Aria especially, were all over her, raving about how great she looked in the dress and how that was definitely the one she should go with. Emily suddenly had an idea as their praise was dying down, and she carefully lifted Ali from her chair. Ali laughed a bit, looking up at Emily like she was crazy. "What are you doing?"

"You should get to model your dress too." Emily positioned Ali in front of the three-way mirror. Ali's feet were resting on the ground so that it looked as if she were standing on her own, and Emily was just hugging her from behind, even though the brunette was actually supporting all of her girlfriend's weight. Ali looked at herself in the mirror, and she smiled wider than Emily had seen her smile since the accident. The girls all cheered for her, and she tossed her hair back, looking back at them over her shoulder like she was doing a photoshoot. Emily couldn't help the smile that spread across her own face, glad that she had been able to make the blonde so happy. She met blue eyes in the mirror. "I take it this is the dress you want?"

"This is _definitely_ the dress I want," the blonde confirmed.

After getting Ali back into her regular clothes, the five girls proceeded to checkout, and Emily insisted on paying for Ali's dress. The blonde had been reluctant to let her, but Emily refused to back down. After they had purchased all of their outfits, they walked out of the store, and Emily was just about to suggest they go home since she had had enough for the day, and she was sure Ali had too, but Spencer beat her to it. "I really should be heading home. It's getting late, and I have a calculus exam to study for."

Emily looked back at the other brunette in surprise. "You're in calculus already?"

"Of course she is," Ali answered for her. "Spencer is super smart. She pretty much knows everything." A teasing grin spread across her face. "Or, at least, she thinks she does."

"Ha ha, very funny, Ali," Spencer said sarcastically. "If I knew everything, I wouldn't have to study now, would I?"

"It's fine if we head out." Aria checked the time on her phone. "I actually have to pick Mike up from lacrosse at 5."

"That's fine with me," Emily said. "We'll see you guys on Monday."

After everyone had exchanged their goodbyes, Alison and Emily went to the car in a peaceful silence. Emily helped Ali into the passenger seat before loading her wheelchair into the trunk and climbing in beside her. Once they had pulled out of the parking lot, Ali finally spoke. "Thank you so much for forcing me to come along today. I had a lot of fun."

Emily shot her a teasing glance. "And you said you wouldn't be able to try anything on."

"Thank you for helping me with that too, and thanks for inviting me to Homecoming. I'm sure that will be a lot of fun too."

"Of course, Ali. I love you," Emily said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Emily could see the blonde smile out of the corner of her eye. "I love you, too. So much."

They settled back into a comfortable silence, and Emily recalled that not long ago, she had never believed that she could have any sort of romantic effect on Alison at all. Now, the blonde was her girlfriend, and she still had a hard time believing that sometimes.

"Don't ever leave me," Ali's small voice brought Emily out of her thoughts.

Emily's gaze softened at the blonde's soft words, and she answered easily and truthfully. "I would never even dream of it."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: And now for the chapter you've all been waiting for...Homecoming! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ali found herself in front of the mirror in Emily's bathroom, nervously doing her makeup. Tonight was the night of the homecoming dance, and Emily had already helped Ali into her dress, but the blonde found herself wishing that she hadn't committed to going in the first place. She knew that she shouldn't be going, that she couldn't dance and would only get in everyone else's way. Emily told her it doesn't matter, that they could have fun anyway and ignore everyone else, but Ali knew that never worked. Emily always told her to ignore everyone else around school, and the brunette herself seemed to do fine with it, used to it after all this time, but Ali heard every word, and she didn't know how not to be upset by it. These people all hated her, but they were supposed to worship her. How had it even gotten like this? Ali now felt bad that she had ever treated anyone the way she had. She had made so many of her classmates the subject of cruel jokes around the school by spreading nasty rumors about them that weren't even true most of the time. Now, she was the brunt of everyone's jokes, and she hated it. Now, she knew how people had felt when she had done this to them, and she wished more than anything that she could go back in time and prevent herself from acting the way that she did. However, she knew that would never be possible. The only thing that she could do now was try her best to make up for it. She hadn't been mean to a single person since her accident, and she only wished that they would stop being mean to her. She was literally on the verge of begging Emily not to make her go to the dance tonight because she knew that it would not be the least bit enjoyable if she did.

"Ali, you're doing it again," Emily said from her place beside Alison, breaking the blond girl from her thoughts.

Ali decided to try feigning innocence. "What?"

Emily gave her a pointed look. "You know what. Looking all nervous."

Ali sighed. "That's because I am nervous. I shouldn't even be going to this thing, Em. Everyone is going to laugh at me, and you know it."

Emily shook her head. "They are not going to laugh at you. This is a big night for them too. They'll be more focused on their friends or on their dates to even really notice what you're doing. It'll be fun. I promise."

Ali was hesitant to agree, and she guessed that Emily could read this on her face because the brunette was quick to continue her argument. "Last weekend, you thought that it would be horrible to go to the mall, and you tried so hard to get out of it, but was it terrible?"

Ali shook her head slowly, knowing that Emily had her with that one. "No. It was fun."

"Right, and this will be too. You'll just have to trust me."

"And I do. With my life." Ali was quick to answer.

Emily leaned down for a quick kiss. "I'm still in shock that you're my girlfriend," she said against Ali's lips.

"Don't be. You're the most gorgeous girl in the school. I'm surprised you didn't have a girlfriend before me," Ali said as Emily pulled back to look at her.

Emily looked away shyly. "People have asked me out, but I always turned them down because I was in love with you."

Ali guided Emily's chin up to bring brown eyes back to hers. "You didn't have to do that, Em. You didn't have to wait for me. You could've just dated them."

"It wouldn't have been the same. Besides, I would wait forever for you." Emily shrugged. "Some things are just worth waiting for."

Ali raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't deserve you at all, do I?"

Emily chuckled teasingly. "Of course not, but I still love you anyways."

"You better," Ali responded with playful open-mouthed shock.

"Are you ready to go now?"

Ali took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

When Emily and Ali arrived at the dance, a lot of people turned to stare at them, despite what Emily had said before. They began to whisper, and some even laughed, making Ali feel extremely uncomfortable. She knew that Emily sensed this because the brunette placed her hand on Ali's shoulder, causing the blonde to relax a bit. Ali knew in that moment that she wanted to have fun at this dance, if not for herself, then for Emily, so she ignored everyone's stares as she and her girlfriend made their way over to where their friends were waiting. Ali smiled when she saw Toby standing beside Spencer in a nice suit. She didn't know the older boy that well, but she had met him once before through Spencer, and he seemed really sweet.

"Hey, Emily, this is Toby," Spencer introduced once Emily was close enough to hear.

"Hi, Toby. It's nice to meet you." Emily held out a hand for him to shake.

Toby shook the hand, saying that he was glad to finally meet the last member of Spencer's new group of friends. Then, the six of them began to dance to the fast beat of the song that was playing. Hanna made all of them laugh immediately because of her crazy dance moves, but she just shrugged them off, telling them all that they needed to let loose a little. Everyone else's dancing was much more subdued, and even though Ali technically couldn't dance, she still moved her upper body to the beat of the songs, and Aria and Emily occasionally moved her around to the beat as well. One time, Ali even tried to spin her own chair around, and she almost tipped the chair over. Luckily, Emily had been keeping an eye on her because the brunette righted the chair before Ali could crash to the ground and make a scene. Alison would be lying if she said that she wasn't having fun, and she realized that Emily had been right again, and not just about having fun. The people around them had lost interest in Ali and had gone back to what they had been doing before, not even sparing Ali or any of her friends a second glance.

When the sounds of a slow song began to play over the speakers, Spencer and Toby pulled each other close to sway to the music. Aria was asked to dance by a cute boy that Ali didn't recognize, and Hanna scoffed, resigning to dance by herself.

"May I have this dance?" a voice asked Hanna.

Ali recognized the boy that the voice belonged to pretty quickly. It was Caleb Rivers from her computer class, and Hanna was already looking at him appreciatively.

"It would be my pleasure," she replied, allowing him to pull her off through the crowd.

Ali turned back to Emily, and she reached out to place her hands on Emily's waist as the brunette settled hers on Ali's shoulders. They couldn't do much more than that, but something about it all was still beautiful, and Ali suspected it was the look in Emily's eyes.

After the song ended, Ali was reluctant to let go of her girlfriend, but the return of the fast-paced music made it nearly impossible not to want to bounce around again. As they pulled apart from each other, they saw Hanna and Aria returning to them.

"I got Caleb's number," Hanna was proud to announce.

"That's really great, Han. I'm happy for you," Emily said, beaming.

"You guys want to grab some snacks with us?" Aria asked. "Hanna's getting hungry."

Ali nodded. "Sure. I'm getting a little hungry myself. You coming, Em?"

"Nah. I'm not really feeling that hungry. I'll wait for you here."

Ali raised her eyebrows at the other girl, wondering concernedly if something was wrong. Emily gave a minute shake of the head, and before Ali could question her further, Hanna was whining. "Come on, guys. I'm starving."

Ali chuckled, shaking her head at Hanna's behavior. "Guess I'm leaving, Em. I'll see you later."

Emily blew her a playful kiss, and then the blonde followed her friends to the snacks table.

* * *

Emily watched as Hanna, Aria, and Alison reached the food area, grabbing snacks and drinks, and when she was sure that the three of them were having a good time, Emily decided that it would be fine if she slipped away. She made her way through the crowd, searching for Spencer, and it didn't take her to long to spot the other brunette dancing with her boyfriend.

"Hey, Toby. Would it be alright if I borrowed Spencer for a second?" Emily asked politely.

He nodded, letting his hands fall from his girlfriend's hips, and Spencer stepped aside, wandering to the corner of the dance floor before turning back to Emily curiously. "What do you need?"

"Would you be willing to do me a favor?" Emily asked.

Spencer looked at her with a curious smile. "Um, sure. What do you want me to do?"

"Since you still have some pull around here, is there any way that you could make Ali the Homecoming Queen tonight?"

The smile fell away from Spencer's face. "I don't know. You know Mona wants to be Queen, and she has a lot more pull than me these days."

Emily's heart sank at that answer because she knew Spencer was right. Mona had been talking about it all week, and there was no way that she wasn't going to win. Emily had completely forgotten about that in her desire to do something nice for her girlfriend, and it made her angry that Mona could just get whatever she wanted after being so terrible. "Mona doesn't deserve to be Queen. She's supposed to be Ali's friend, but she has been nothing but mean to Ali since she got into that accident. Besides, I was really hoping that we could do this for Ali tonight. It would mean a lot to her because it would show her that everyone still respects her, even though they've been making jokes recently. It might even make them respect her."

Spencer nodded. "I see where you're coming from, and I agree. I would love to do this for Ali, and I will try my best, but I just don't think that I have much of a chance against Mona."

"I suppose trying is all you can do, and I don't know if this is stretching it, but if you could, make sure the king is some sweet guy who won't make fun of her," Emily added.

"Of course." Spencer looked at Emily like this should have been obvious.

Emily laughed. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"It's no problem really. Ali's my best friend, and I'm really tired of seeing her get hurt."

"Me too." Emily sighed. "Well, I better go find her. She went to get snacks with Hanna and Aria, and I told her I'd be waiting for her when she gets back."

Spencer nodded before wandering off into the crowd, presumably to try and see if she could convince people to vote for Alison. Emily crossed her fingers, knowing her idea probably wouldn't work, but wishing with all her heart that it would anyway.

* * *

Ali looked over her shoulder when she heard Emily's voice behind her. "How are you guys doing over here?"

"Hey, Em. They have really great brownies here. You should try one." Ali handed the brownie that she was about to bite into to Emily.

Emily took a bite, and Ali smiled at the look of pleasure that took over her features. "Mmm, this is really good."

"The dance is really fun this year." Aria smiled warmly at her friends. "Do you guys want to go back and dance now?"

"I guess," Hanna said reluctantly, turning back to wave at the food with sad eyes. "Goodbye, food."

Emily popped the rest of the brownie into her mouth, and then the four of them made their way back to the dance floor. Emily told them all that Spencer wanted to spend some time alone with Toby, and Ali nodded, seeing the reason in this. The four of them danced and danced, not stopping until the principal made his way up to the stage to announce the winners for the Homecoming King and Queen. Ali rolled her eyes. They all knew that the King would probably be Noel, and the Queen would most definitely be Mona. She had been campaigning for votes all week.

"I am proud to announce that this year's Homecoming Queen is Alison DiLaurentis, and the Homecoming King is- well, it seems we have two Homecoming Queens, Alison DiLaurentis and Emily Fields!" The principal's voice boomed through the microphone.

Ali was completely stunned, and she looked over to Emily, wondering if she had heard correctly. Was this even possible? Emily looked just as shocked as Ali was, so the blonde knew that this had to be real. It didn't make sense though. She thought everyone hated her, so why would they vote for her as the Homecoming Queen? Everyone was smiling at her though as Emily pushed her up onto the stage to accept the crown. When the principal placed the crown on her head, the people actually cheered for her, and she wondered what could have made them change their minds since she'd entered the dance. When she saw the huge smile on Emily's face though, she found that she didn't care anymore as she made her way to the center of the floor to dance with the girl she loved.

A song started to play over the loudspeakers, and Ali soon realized that it was a cover of _Every Breath You Take_. Emily reached down to put her hands on Ali's shoulders, and then she seemed to get a different idea because she leaned down and scooped Ali out of her chair completely. Ali's eyes widened as Emily held her in her arms before she relaxed into the brunette, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck and looking over the other girl's shoulder as she swayed to the music. Ali was really grateful to Emily for doing this because it felt almost as if she were actually dancing with Emily the way she was supposed to be, the way that she would if she could actually feel her legs. The smile never left either girl's face as the song played on, and at the end, they shared a kiss, which resulted in the cheering of the other students. Ali couldn't help the shock that she was sure played out on her face at the fact that these people were being so supportive of her relationship with Emily when they had been making fun of it only yesterday. She brushed this thought aside though for a moment as Emily lowered her back into her wheelchair, wanting to show her gratitude to the brunette. "Thank you so much for doing that. It felt like we were really dancing."

"We were, but I know what you mean, and you're welcome," Emily said with a wink.

Ali's brows furrowed in confusion when she surveyed the people around them again. "Why is everyone being so nice to us? I don't understand."

Emily just shrugged. "Maybe they had a change of heart."

"Maybe _I_ had a change of heart," a voice spoke up from behind them.

Ali was surprised when she looked over to see Mona standing there. Come to think of it, she hadn't even seen Mona all night. Ali had been too shocked about being crowned the Homecoming Queen to even think about how weird it was that Mona wasn't throwing a fit or leading a riot or something as a result of not being chosen herself. Ali just looked curiously at her ex-friend, waiting for her to continue explaining what she was doing here now.

"I withdrew my campaign for homecoming queen. I noticed how miserable you were because of the way that everyone was treating you, and I realized that I had made them do that. I was responsible for everyone making fun of you because I encouraged it. They hated you, and I took advantage of that. I really only turned everyone against you because I was tired of being second in command, and when you got crippled for life, I saw my opportunity to be top dog around here, and I took it, but it was wrong for me to turn on you like that. You didn't deserve that, Alison. You had enough stress on you already trying to get used to not being able to walk, and I shouldn't have made it worse by getting everyone to make fun of you. I realize I have been a horrible friend, but we used to get along so well, and I miss you, Ali. I know now that being the most popular girl in school isn't worth losing my friends. I've noticed how happy you've been looking with your new group of friends, and that was what made me realize how stupid I've been. I shouldn't have let my jealousy get in the way of our friendship, and I'm really sorry for everything that I did, but I'm trying my best to make it right now. I told everyone that I was wrong about you being a loser and that you are still the coolest person at Rosewood High, and I told them not to vote for me as Queen but to vote for you and Emily." Mona paused, looking down at her feet. "I would really love to be your friend again, but I'd also understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore."

Ali found herself speechless for the second time that night. She never imagined that Mona might come back and basically beg to be her friend again. The brunette loved being in the spotlight too much, and Ali could tell that Mona had always envied her for having the top spot. She certainly was surprised that Mona actually cared about her. She had thought that the only reason the other girl ever hung out with her in the first place was for her popularity, and the fact that Mona had left right after Ali's accident had only confirmed that thought for the blonde. She never would have thought that Mona would come back later and tell her that she missed her. Ali didn't know what she wanted to say to her friend. On one hand, she wanted to tell the brunette to get lost because Mona had been awful to her, but on the other, she knew that she wanted to accept Mona's apology, especially after everything that she had done for Ali and Emily tonight. The blonde couldn't deny that she believed in second chances. Emily had given her more than she deserved.

"I forgive you, Mona," Ali said, "and we can be friends again. Thank you for what you did tonight. I really appreciate it."

A smile spread across Mona's face. "No. Thank you, Alison, for giving me another chance. I know I don't deserve it."

"You donn't," Ali agreed lightly, "but that's what friends are for."

"Do you think Spencer will forgive me too?" Mona asked nervously.

Ali nodded. "I think that she will if you tell her everything you just told me."

"You're right. I'll go talk to her now. See you Monday, Ali," Mona said brightly before disappearing into the crowd.

There was a moment of shocked silence before Emily spoke up. "I can't believe that just happened."

"I can't either, but if you saw it too, I guess it did." Ali let out a small chuckle.

There was another moment of silence before Emily spoke up again. "Well, it's getting late. You ready to head home?"

Ali nodded. "Yeah. I had a great time tonight."

"Me too." Emily smiled.

The two of them pushed through the throng of people in search of Hanna and Aria, wanting to say goodbye to the two girls before they left. After a few minutes of searching the dance floor, Emily spotted them over at the snacks table, and Ali realized that she shouldn't be surprised, what with Hanna's appetite. Hanna was eating a handful of chips and talking excitedly to Aria as Emily and Alison approached.

"Congratulations, guys!" Hanna shouted as soon as she saw her friends.

"Yeah. We totally voted for you," Aria added.

"Thanks, guys, but we really won because of Mona," Ali admitted, trying not to laugh at the looks of shock that washed over Hanna's and Aria's faces at the news. "She withdrew herself from the campaign because she had a change of heart. She got everyone to vote for me and Emily in the hopes that she could make up for everything that she had done and be my friend again."

"That's awesome!" Hanna exclaimed. "Maybe people will start treating you with some respect now."

Aria's eyes shined with concern. "Wait a second, did you forgive her? Are you sure that's a good idea considering the way she's been treating you?"

"I did, but don't worry. She's my friend, and I'd be stupid not to give her a second chance. I mean, she was cruel to me because she let her popularity get to her head, and I did the same thing to a lot of people. How can I expect the people at school to forgive me if I don't forgive Mona for the same thing? Besides, she's actually pretty cool once you get to know her, so if she tries to sit with us at lunch on Monday, just be nice to her."

"Of course we'll be nice," Aria agreed.

"Yeah. As long as she is," Hanna added pointedly.

"I think she will be. She seemed like she was actually sorry when she talked to me earlier."

Aria smiled. "That's good that she came around."

Emily finally spoke up from beside Ali, informing their friends of the reason they had been looking for them in the first place. "Ali and I are going to call it a night and head home. We came over here to say bye to you guys."

"I'll probably head out soon too," Aria agreed.

"Just promise you'll hang out tomorrow?" Hanna asked.

Ali smiled at the thought, easily agreeing, happy to finally be a part of a group of people who really cared about her. She was really glad to finally find out what it felt like to be a part of a genuine friends group. No one was competing for popularity points, and there was none of the tension that had become so familiar to Ali before. These people just genuinely cared about each other, and Ali loved that. The other nice thing was that the people around the group of friends didn't even bat an eye in their direction. When Ali used to go to any party with Spencer and Mona before the accident, they had been the talk of the party, all eyes on them, but tonight, no one was worshipping Ali and her friends or hating on them in the corners. Ali was just an ordinary girl, and she found that she liked that very much.

Emily rolled her eyes at her blond friend. "We promise."

"Great. We'll see you tomorrow then," Hanna said cheerily.

After saying goodbye to their friends, Emily and Alison made their way out to the car. On the way home, Ali looked out the window at the night sky above them. It was a beautiful night with not a cloud in the sky, and the stars were shining brightly. Perfect weather for a perfect night. Ali couldn't help but smile to herself as they drove home because for the first time since the accident, it felt like everything was finally going right.

* * *

 **AN: I know that a lot of you wanted Ali to walk again at Homecoming, and I'm really sorry that I didn't have that happen, but it just didn't fit in with what I have planned for this story. I hope you still liked the chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Happy PLL Day, Emisonians! I am really glad that so many of you are loving this story so much. Thank you to everyone who continues to read this, and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

The week after Homecoming was better than Emily or Ali could have expected. After being voted the Homecoming Queens and after Mona's assurances that Alison and Emily were not losers, everyone around the school started treating them a lot more nicely. People stopped making jokes and tormenting Ali, and they started to give her a second chance. They talked to her in the hallways, and some people even offered to take her to her classes. Now, at the end of the week, everything had finally gotten slightly back to normal for Ali. Everyone practically worshipped her again, but it was different this time. It wasn't out of fear, but because they genuinely liked her and wanted to be around her. Ali was finally allowing herself to drop her façade and just be her, and Emily could tell that she felt a lot freer and happier because of it.

Things were working out better for Emily as well. She had always been a loser before, and no one had ever even spared her a second glance, but now everyone knew who she was. Emily Fields was now Alison DiLaurentis's girlfriend and the Homecoming Queen. Emily wasn't used to all of the friendly greetings and conversations from people around the school, but she couldn't say she hated it. She liked finally being seen, even more so because she knew that Paige hated the way things were working out. Emily hadn't missed the looks of jealousy that Paige had shot her way when she walked down the hall. Paige's plan had been to bring Ali down, and it seemed she might have accidentally made the blonde happier. Alison was finally getting to just be Alison, and people seemed to love Alison much more than the girl she had pretended to be. Not only that, but Ali was a lot happier with her friends group too, now that it had expanded. The nail in the coffin was that Emily had left Paige in the dust. Everyone now knew who Emily was, and they all loved her as well, while Paige was still just a freak that no one cared about, and Emily was not about to be caught dead associating with a complete loser like her. Emily's newfound popularity wasn't getting to her head though, like Ali's had clearly done in the past. The brunette just had a much different definition of loser. To her, a loser was someone whose only goal in life was revenge and bringing other people down, and she did not want to be around those kinds of people ever again.

Another thing on the plus side was that Ali had been getting a lot better with her wheelchair recently. She had been slowly getting used to her condition now that she didn't have to worry about the people at school teasing her anymore. She had also begun going to her classes on her own now, perfectly capable of making it now that no one was being cruel to her. Also, if she needed help with something, she wasn't afraid to ask someone, and most people would readily help her out. Emily was happy with the way that things were turning out, and she was so relieved that most of her stress was now off her shoulders.

Now, Emily was just grabbing her lunch out of her locker, closing the door behind her before turning to go find Ali. Emily didn't miss it when a few books tumbled down from Ali's locker after she pulled her lunchbox out, and she was just about to go over and offer her assistance, but she was surprised to see that Noel beat her to it. As captain of the lacrosse team, Noel had been one of Ali's biggest adversaries, relentlessly teasing her everywhere she went. Emily knew that Mona had put him up to it then, but it was still strange to see him stooped over in front of Alison, picking up her books for her. Emily hung back, silently watching as Noel slid the books back into the blonde's locker.

"Thank you so much, Noel." Ali smiled up at him after he had shut her locker door.

Noel dipped his head in acknowledgement. "No problem, Ali. Do you want me to take you to lunch?"

"I'm actually waiting for Emily right now, but thanks for offering," Ali said politely.

"Anytime, Ali." He shot one last smile in her direction before jogging off to catch up with some guys from the lacrosse team.

Ali's eyes landed on Emily, and the brunette smiled at the way that they lit up just for her, making her way over to join the blonde. "Hey, Ali. You ready for lunch?"

"Of course," she said, smiling widely.

Ali and Emily made their way into the lunch room side by side. Ali had insisted on pushing herself lately, and Emily was completely fine with that, simply happy that the blonde was improving so much. When they got to their lunch table, Emily helped Ali into a chair, and the two girls were greeted by all of their friends, plus Mona, who had started sitting with them at the beginning of the week. Emily had been unsure about Mona at first, wary that the other brunette might just be playing games with them, but Mona turned out to be a lot cooler than the self-centered bitch that Emily had always thought she was. Hanna and Mona had really hit it off from the start, taking a fast liking to each other, and Emily was pretty sure that they had already hung out without the rest of the group this week. Emily wasn't surprised when upon sitting down, Hanna, always the first to want to hang out, informed them of her plans for the afternoon. "So, Mona and I are going to Latitude 360 after school today. Aria and Spencer already said that they could go. Do you guys want to come too?"

Ali smiled warmly, eyes sparkling with what Emily could only describe as excitement. "I would love to. Are you in, Em?"

Emily took a moment to appreciate the sight of Ali so enthusiastic to go. The minute Hanna suggested it, Alison was immediately ready to go, and it was definitely a nice change from the girl who never wanted to leave the house. Emily nodded in answer to Ali's question, although she knew nothing about this place where they were supposedly going. "Of course I'm in, but what exactly is Latitude 360?"

Hanna's jaw dropped open in exaggerated shock. "Are you kidding me?"

Emily had heard of it of course, but she couldn't say that she knew what it was or anything. In her defense, it had just opened up. "What? It just opened like three weeks ago. Not everyone goes to every new place in Rosewood the week it opens, Han."

Hanna huffed. "Well, everyone should. Besides, I can't believe you haven't heard anything about this place yet. It's, like, the talk of the school."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm not really one for gossip. You know that."

Aria, always the mediator, stepped in before Hanna and Emily could argue any further. "That's enough, guys. Latitude 360 is a bowling alley, but it also has a restaurant and a game room. It's really nice inside, and it's lots of fun too. My family went there for Family Night last week."

Emily nodded in agreement. "It sounds fun. I haven't bowled in a long time though."

"Don't worry." Alison grabbed Emily's hand and squeezed. "You're not alone. I haven't been bowling since I was about nine."

"I can't bowl to save my life," Aria added, shrugging her shoulders.

As the six girls finished eating, Latitude 360 became the hot topic of the table, and Emily found herself getting more and more excited to go. Even though she hadn't bowled in a while, she couldn't say that she was opposed, if for nothing else than to just hang out with her friends. She loved her new friends group, and she could tell that Ali did too, especially now that Mona was back. It made Emily wonder why they had never done this in the first place, although she knew it in her heart exactly why. It seemed like such a waste to have gone the two years that they had not really knowing each other because it would have made the members of each group so much happier. Emily supposed thought that there was nothing they could do about it now except for spend as much time together as possible.

After lunch, it seemed that the school day dragged on. Classes were as boring as usual, but time went by extra slowly in the way that it does when you're waiting for something. Emily tried her best to pay attention and take notes, but after the conversation at the lunch table, Emily's mind was elsewhere. When the final bell rang, she hurriedly packed up before going to meet Ali at her locker. The blonde looked up at her girlfriend with an amused grin. "Look at you getting here so quickly. You're really excited to go to Latitude 360, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. I've never been before. Aren't you excited?" Emily asked.

"Obviously." Ali closed her locker door. "Let's go."

She didn't have to tell Emily twice.

* * *

When Ali and Emily got to Latitude 360, Spencer, Hanna, and Mona were already there, waiting outside of the building. The two of them joined their friends, exchanging greetings before standing in a comfortable silence to wait for their sixth friend to arrive. They didn't think, though, that they would be waiting for so long, and all of them, Hanna especially, began to get antsy after a few minutes. Ten minutes had passed when Aria finally joined them in front of the establishment, and Emily could tell without even looking that Hanna was glaring at the smaller girl because Aria rushed to explain herself. "I'm sorry I got held up. Art was my last class today, and I just really wanted to finish up my project."

"Yeah because a dumb art project is more important than meeting up with your friends," Hanna grumbled.

"Come on, Hanna. Art to Aria is like shopping to you." Emily stuck up for her other friend before turning her attention back to Aria. "What was the project?"

Aria's eyes lit up as she talked about the project that she was so obviously very passionate about. "It was a representation of Van Gogh's _Starry Night_. I was just putting the finishing touches on it when the bell rang, so I stayed a couple minutes later in order to get it done."

Emily knew what was coming next before Ali even said it. "That's awesome. I have that painting hanging in my bedroom. It's my favorite."

Emily was with Alison when she had first purchased the painting. Ali was also into art, although not to the level that Aria was, and Emily had accompanied her to an art show one weekend because the blonde's friends hadn't wanted to go. Emily didn't mind art, and she loved spending time with Alison, so she had been quick to agree. She still remembered the look of excitement on Ali's face when she had first seen that one of the paintings for sale was a copy _Starry Night_ , and she had known even before Ali said anything about it that the blonde wouldn't be leaving the gallery that painting.

"That's so cool! It's one of my favorites as well," Aria answered.

Hanna interrupted the two girls before they could say another word about art. "Not that art isn't absolutely amazing, but can we please go inside now?"

Aria nodded to her friend. "Of course. Sorry again about the wait."

When they entered the building, Emily was glad to see that the place wasn't too crowded, and she hoped that it would remain that way. The six of them were lucky enough to not have to wait at all for a bowling lane, immediately being directed to lane 7, where they all sat down on the white leather couches and put on their shoes. Emily put Alison's shoes on for her, even though she didn't actually need them. The brunette understood though that her girlfriend just didn't want to feel left out, and no one had even questioned her when she asked for them.

The girls started off pretty rough, throwing many gutter balls, and their scores were less than stellar. Except for Spencer, of course. The brunette had played for a bowling league through middle school before she had quit to focus on field hockey, and she had never lost her touch, easily beating the rest of the girls. Emily could tell that Ali was having a hard time adjusting to bowling in her chair, and even though she was improving greatly towards the end of the first game, she still came in last.

"That's not fair, Spence. You're totally cheating." Mona frowned at the final scores of the game.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "I'm not though. It's not my fault I actually know how to bowl, and you don't."

"I want a rematch," Hanna demanded, "and this time, I'm going to win."

Spencer chuckled a little. "You can try."

The next game went slightly better for everyone, but Emily found that she came in last that round. She was not surprised at all, but she was surprised that Alison had come in first, beating Spencer by exactly three points.

Once Spencer finished her last frame, she looked up at the scores with a shriek of outrage. "What the hell? I think Ali's the one who's cheating, Mona."

"You saw me. I didn't cheat." Ali raised her hands in surrender. "It's just that you're not the only one who knows how to bowl. I used to go all the time with Jason and his friends when we were younger, before he got into drinking. The only reason I did so terrible last time is because it took me a while to get used to bowling in a chair."

"No fair." Spencer crossed her arms over her chest, chuckling a little as she pouted. "I thought I had all of you beat for sure."

"Looks like you'll have to practice more, Spence." Ali nudged her friend playfully in the side.

"Well, our time is up on this lane, and I am super hungry, so do you guys want to head over to the restaurant and get something to eat?" Hanna asked.

Emily nodded, not surprised in the slightest that Hanna was the first to get hungry. "Sure."

Everyone was in agreement with Hanna, seemingly ready to eat as well, and so their group wandered over to the restaurant area. Luckily, there was no wait, and they were led over to a circular booth in the corner that could seat all of them.

"Would someone mind helping me into the booth?" Ali asked, and Emily was glad that the blond girl had gotten to the point of asking. Emily had stopped doing things for Alison without her permission, letting her do anything that she thought she could, and this had helped the blonde to admit when she needed help. Emily was really happy that her girlfriend was no longer bitter about her condition and that she just accepted the way that life was now. Sure, it kind of sucked, but Emily thought that Alison might just be happier now than she was before, as crazy as that sounded. She knew that a big part of it was because of their new friends group, and the other part was most assuredly about not having the pressure of having to keep up with her reputation. Emily knew that the blonde was finally questioning why her reputation had even mattered to her so much, something that Emily had wondered about since she had first met the blonde.

"Yeah, I got you." Spencer lifted Ali out of her chair, settling her in the booth next to Aria before allowing Emily climb in next. The six of them took a moment to look over the menus, and Emily was distracted by the beautiful panels that surrounded each booth. Each panel contained water and bubbles that swirled around and were lit up by flashing lights that changed colors. She was quite taken with them. "It's really nice in here. I love the bubbles."

Aria was quick to agree. "I know. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Emily nodded in appreciation, and the others did too, taking a moment to admire the bubbles before Mona called their attention back to the table. "So, Ali, now that you're officially dating Emily, how many dates have you been on?"

"We actually haven't been on a real date yet," Ali admitted.

Hanna's jaw dropped upon hearing that information, ever the dramatic one. "What? Why not?!"

Emily gave Hanna an annoyed look. "You know very well why not. Learning to live with the consequences of Ali's accident hasn't been easy for either of us, and to be honest, planning a first date hasn't really been the first thing on our minds."

"You guys should have it soon," Mona said. "You've been dating for over a month now. You deserve to go out on a real first date."

Emily thought about it for a moment, realizing that Mona was right. They had been dating for a little over a month now, and they hadn't even gone out for a real first date. Emily felt bad because the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. She had known Ali for two years now, and it felt like they'd already had their first date long ago, but she supposed it would be nice to go out to eat as an actual couple. "You're right. Maybe we'll go somewhere tomorrow night."

Mona's eyes lit up with excitement. "I have the perfect place. You should totally go to Rive Gauche, the French place at the King James Mall. It's really nice there, and the food is to die for. It's probably my favorite restaurant, and it's a great atmosphere for a first date. Have you guys ever been?"

Emily had heard of the place of course. It was one of the more popular restaurants with the kids at Rosewood High, and Emily had been meaning to try it out some time, but she had never gotten around to it. "I can't say that I have."

"I've been there once with my family. That was their idea of spending time with me and Jason between business trips, and it was the most awkward dinner ever, but the food was fantastic," Ali said.

"You guys should go there. Maybe you can make reservations for tomorrow night," Mona suggested.

"That sounds nice. What do you think, Ali?" Emily turned her questioning gaze on her girlfriend.

Ali smiled sweetly at her. "I'd love to go to Rive Gauche with you, Em."

Emily suddenly felt sort of excited at the prospect of going on a real date with Ali. It would certainly be different to be going out with the other girl as more than friends. Even though Emily had never been to Rive Gauche before, she knew that it would be the perfect place for their first date because Ali loved all things French. She was always talking about going to Paris, and she was taking French for the third year in a row, even though it was only required to take two years of a foreign language to graduate. Emily couldn't wait to take her girlfriend there.

After dinner, the group charged up their gaming cards and headed to the game room. The six of them walked around the room, trying to decide what to play. Ali chose for them when she swiped her card at one of the basketball machines. Hanna was quick to step up to the machine beside her, and the rest of them watched as the two blondes played the game. Neither of them was very good, although Ali was sitting in a chair, which had to make it a lot harder to play. Hanna was simply terrible. Neither of them scored over twenty points.

"This is really hard to do in a wheelchair," Ali announced, sounding as if she hadn't even considered the possibility when she first started the game.

Hanna chuckled a little. "I have no excuse. I'm just terrible, but it's still lots of fun." Her face then turned more serious. "You should play again. I'll hold you up so that it'll be easier for you to shoot."

Ali shook her head immediately. "No. You don't have to do that."

Hanna smiled brightly. "Too bad because I want to."

"If you're sure." Ali still looked wary.

"One hundred percent," Hanna confirmed.

Hanna lifted Ali out of her chair then, setting her legs on the ground and holding her up from behind. Emily was surprised that Hanna could lift the other blonde like that, and the brunette had to stop herself from reaching out to help, not wanting to be the worried girlfriend. Alison did a lot better at the game this time, scoring a total of 32 points. Emily was impressed, and she could see the excitement that was shining in the blonde's eyes when she noticed her score. A wide smile spread across Hanna's face as well when she noticed Ali's score. "Nice job, Ali. That was amazing!"

Ali smiled proudly. "Thanks."

Emily loved how good Hanna was with Alison. She was really relieved that Ali was getting along so well with her friends, and it honestly felt a little surreal. Not long ago, Alison wouldn't have thought to give Emily's friends the time of day, having classified them as losers that she shouldn't be seen with, and now she was watching as Alison talked excitedly to Hanna after the other blonde had lowered her back into her chair.

It wasn't long before Ali was eyeing up the air hockey table, and Emily knew what was coming before the blonde even asked. "Do you want to play air hockey with me, Em?"

Emily simply nodded, moving to grab a goal guarding mallet. Ali made her way to the other end and swiped her card, starting the game. Ali was a lot better than Emily had expected, but then again, she had probably gone to arcades a lot too with her brother when they were younger. Emily ended up getting beaten six to seven, but she was just glad that she had held her own, especially with all of their friends watching.

"My turn." Spencer grabbed the mallet that Emily had been using.

"Oh, you're on," Ali said with a playful glare.

Emily moved out of the way so that the two of them could start their game, and if Emily had thought Ali was good earlier, she was amazed at how good Spencer played. She beat Ali seven to three.

"Wow! How did you get so good at that?" Emily couldn't help but ask.

Spencer shot her a cheeky grin. "My sister, Melissa, and I used to be obsessed with air hockey when we were younger. We would always play it whenever we went to an arcade, and we were extremely competitive, in the Hastings way."

Emily nodded, and Spencer turned expectantly towards the others, waiting for someone else to step up and play her. Emily backed away, not wanting to be totally humiliated, and she was not surprised at all when Mona stepped up to play. After many more rounds of air hockey, the friends group split apart, each of them going their own way to play whatever games they wanted to play, and Emily had to say that she had a lot of fun. She especially enjoyed the Wheel of Fortune machine that they had there, since she had spent a lot of time watching the show with her parents when she was younger and could honestly say that she had developed quite a liking to it.

Once the group's cards were finally spent, they met up in the prizes area, cashing in their tickets to see how much they had before looking around the room to see what they might want. As Emily walked around the room, her eyes settled on a shelf full of lava lamps, and she pulled down a blue one.

"Hey, Ali, look. They have lava lamps." Emily held the item up for her girlfriend to see, knowing that the blonde would probably want one too.

Ali's eyes lit up at the sight. "Awesome! I want one. That shelf is a little too high for me to reach though. Could you get one down for me?"

"What color?" Emily asked.

Ali's eyes scanned over the color choices. "I'll have red, please."

Emily easily reached up to grab the red one and handed it to Ali, the blonde then thanking her like always. Emily was just about to move on to look at other things when Aria came rushing over.

"They have lava lamps? I have to have one of these," she gushed excitedly, grabbing a pink one off the shelf.

Soon, everyone had lava lamps, Spencer selecting a purple one, Hanna opting for green, and Mona pulling down a vibrant yellow. Emily smiled to herself at the thought of them all having matching lava lamps, but in different colors, just like they were all in the same friends group, even though they had quite different personalities.

Emily wandered away to check out the rest of the prizes, and she decided to spend the rest of her tickets on an adorable beanie baby Dalmatian. When she joined the others at the checkout counter, she saw that Ali had chosen some headphones, Spencer some kind of Rubik's Cube, and Hanna and Mona some cute Latitude 360 shirts. Aria was the last to join the group, running over with a melting clock.

Hanna looked at the object with a puzzled expression. "What is that?"

"It's a melting clock," Aria explained, "from Salvador Dali's famous painting _The Persistence of Memory_."

Hanna raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Why am I not surprised?"

Aria nudged her playfully. "Oh come on, Hanna. You know I love art."

"Don't worry, Aria. I know what you're talking about," Ali spoke up. "I enjoy looking at artwork too, and I'm familiar with the painting with the clocks in it, although I did not know what it was called before now. I think that clock is really cool."

"At least someone here knows I'm not crazy," Aria muttered.

"Come on, Aria. You know I love you," Hanna said.

"That's more like it," Aria said with a smirk.

After checking out at the desk, the six girls gathered up all of their stuff and walked outside. It seemed that none of them were ready to leave yet though because they all stopped outside of the building to say their goodbyes, even though Emily was sure they'd be seeing each other over the weekend.

"That was so much fun," Emily said.

"We should definitely do this again sometime," Spencer added.

"Maybe we could make it our Friday hangout spot. Every Friday after school, we come here," Ali suggested.

"If Aria can get out of art class on time," Hanna grumbled.

"I'll try my best, but no promises," Aria said jokingly, causing everyone to laugh.

They all stood and talked for a few more minutes, but it was getting late, and so they all said goodbye shortly after. As Emily walked to the car beside Alison, she reflected on how much fun she had that afternoon, and she was honestly so glad that things were turning out the way they were. She loved her new group of friends, and she wouldn't give them up for the world. Not to mention, she was super excited for her date with Alison tomorrow. These thoughts caused a smile to light up her face as she climbed into the car.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Enjoy!**

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Alison sat in front of the mirror, curling her hair for her and Emily's first date and trying to quell her rising nerves. She knew that there was no reason for her to be nervous because she had been out with Emily loads of times before, but this would be the first time that she went out with Emily as her girlfriend. This time was different, and Alison really hoped that she didn't find a way to screw it up. As Alison eyed herself in the mirror, she wished that she had something a little nicer to wear. Emily had told her a million times that her black floral print dress and denim jacket were completely fine. Emily herself was only wearing a white shirt and a red leather jacket with black jeans, but Ali just wanted to look absolutely perfect. Ali decided to just let it go because there was really nothing else she could do about it, and she went back to focusing on her hair.

At that moment, Emily walked into the bathroom, giving herself a quick once-over in the mirror before nodding in approval. "Ali, are you ready to go?"

"I've just got to finish curling my hair," Ali responded.

Emily gave her a pointed look. "You've been curling your hair for almost an hour now. It's as curled as it's ever going to get. If you continue curling it like that, you might damage it."

Ali bit her lip, looking up at Emily in defeat. "I know. I know. I'm just really nervous."

"Why are you nervous?" Emily asked calmly. "We've gone out to eat together millions of times before."

Ali sighed. She didn't know how Emily was acting so cool and collected right now while Ali herself felt like a hurricane was attacking her insides. "It's different this time though, Em. We're not just going out as friends. We're dating."

"Just tell yourself that it's no different, and maybe you won't be so nervous," Emily suggested. "You're acting like we've never met before, and you have to make a good first impression. Well, you've already made your first impression, so don't worry about it."

Ali smiled up at her. "Was it a good first impression?"

Emily flashed her girlfriend a teasing smirk. "I didn't say anything about that."

"Hey," Ali said with a pout.

"Anyways, relax and have fun," Emily said. "Just because we're dating doesn't mean that we suddenly have to be nervous around each other."

Ali hesitated a little before admitting, "I've always been sort of nervous around you."

The blonde caught the shock on Emily's face before she was able to hide it. "If it makes you feel any better, I could never tell that you were nervous. I've always been nervous around you too, but I know you could tell."

"I could tell, but it was always cute," Ali said with a smile.

"To tell you the truth, I'm nervous about tonight too," Emily admitted. "I've just been trying to hide it because I didn't want you to worry."

This time, it was Ali's turn to look surprised. "I actually couldn't tell this time."

"Neither of us should be nervous, so I'll just tell you now. There is nothing you can say or do on this date that will make me want to leave. I'm in this relationship now, and I plan on sticking around for as long as you'll have me," Emily said earnestly.

Ali's heart swelled at the brunette's words, and she was grateful for that reminder of Emily's feelings for her. Sometimes, she still felt a little burdensome, and she was glad that Emily never saw her that way. However, Ali could tell by the look on Emily's face that the brunette had her own uncertainties, so the blonde decided to make her feelings clear as well. "Looks like you'll be with me forever then."

"I'm more than fine with that," Emily said with a huge smile. "You ready to head out now?"

Ali nodded, placing her curling iron back on the bathroom counter and unplugging it from the wall.

"Your ride awaits." The smile never left Emily's face as she carried Alison down the stairs.

* * *

Upon arrival at Rive Gauche, Emily and Alison were seated immediately because of their reservations. Mona had actually called ahead for them and made them dinner reservations for 6:30, which Ali was really grateful for, even after she found out that the brunette had made the reservation before asking Ali and Emily if they even wanted to go. The blonde couldn't be mad though because it would've been hard to make a reservation yesterday night anyway on such short notice, and if they hadn't wanted to go, they could have easily canceled.

When they sat down at their table, they ordered their drinks and then settled in to look at the menu. Ali was pleased to find that all of the items were listed in French, and she found that she could understand pretty much all of it, even without the English descriptions that were next to each item. Ali was still glad that the English descriptions were there though because she didn't want Emily to feel embarrassed if she didn't remember her French. When the waiter came back to take their orders, Ali had decided to go with the garlic shrimp and penne, and Emily had chosen the filet mignon periguese.

Once the waiter was gone, there was no awkward silence or anything, and Ali relaxed when she realized that it really didn't feel any different. It was like they were just hanging out at the mall. Emily started speaking right away. "So, Ali, now that we're kind of taking a night to relax, I wanted to ask you something. I've been avoiding the topic because I know it's a tough one for you, and you've been doing so much better lately, but how are you really feeling about being in a wheelchair?"

Ali paused to think. That was a good question. Obviously, it took some major getting used to, and she still felt that she was, but it was much better now that everyone wasn't teasing her at school. She still got a little frustrated when she couldn't do things, but she was certainly a lot more comfortable with asking for help when she needed it.

"Not as bad as I used to. I mean, I still hate feeling so helpless sometimes, but I'm definitely adjusting to it, especially since the kids at school have stopped acting so cruel. The main reason though that I haven't been having such a hard time anymore is my amazing friends."

"So you like the way our friends group joined together?" Emily asked with hopeful eyes.

Ali gave her a bewildered look. "Of course I do. Hanna and Aria are really sweet, and I'm so glad that Mona finally came around. It felt like she and I were always in a competition before, so it's incredibly nice to finally actually be friends with her."

Ali knew that her statements were absolutely true. Aria was the sweetest person that she had ever met, and Hanna was hilarious. Ali would never get over the way that they treated her like she was the queen when she was really no different than them, although it seemed that they were starting to figure that out now. The fact that Mona came back was even better. Ali's accident provided the perfect opportunity for Mona to get the fame that she had always strived for, and the blonde was really glad that the brunette had found that it wasn't everything that she had hoped, especially since Ali had recently found out the same exact thing. For the first time ever, she and Mona were actually friends. Ali and Spencer had always been close because they were neighbors and had known each other since childhood, but Mona hadn't become their friend until high school, and she had always been jealous of Alison. The blonde could never get close to Mona because there was always a sort of tension running between them, making Ali feel as if she were constantly competing with the other girl, and she was relieved that all of that was gone now and that they could actually be genuine friends.

Ali shrugged as she turned her attention back to Emily. "I guess at least one good thing came out of the accident. It also gave me the courage to admit to everyone my feelings for you, so that's another plus."

Emily smiled warmly. "I can't argue with that one, although I'm sure that you would've come around and admitted it eventually."

Alison nodded in agreement, knowing that this was most likely true. She could not imagine her life without Emily in it, and she knew that if she had spent enough time without Emily, she would've eventually caved and realized that her reputation wasn't so important after all. "You're probably right."

When Emily and Ali's food came, their talking dwindled down a little as they enjoyed their respective dishes. Alison absolutely adored hers because it was French food after all, and she could tell by the look on Emily's face that the food here had exceeded her expectations. The evening continued nicely, and the accident was not brought up again. Instead, they used their time to just hang out and spend time together in a romantic setting. It felt nice to be out on a date, and Alison knew that it was weird for two people who had just started dating to wait so long to actually go on a date, but it felt like she'd known Emily forever. Ali had a great time at the restaurant, enjoying the time to just get away, even though it was only for a couple hours, and she could tell that Emily loved it as well. Ali made a mental note to thank Mona for the restaurant suggestion and reservations later.

* * *

After having been home for some time watching television, Emily and Alison finally decided to get ready to go to sleep. After showering and brushing their teeth, they collapsed into bed. The romantic feel of the evening was still buzzing through Ali's veins, and she was finding it hard to restrain herself from jumping Emily's bones right then and there. Clearly, the brunette was having the same struggle because it wasn't long before she was rolling on top of Alison to give her a searing kiss. Ali didn't even hesitate to return it immediately.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Emily asked when she pulled back for air.

"No. You're fine," Ali panted.

The two of them shared a passionate kiss, and Ali reveled in the feel of Emily's weight on top of her, pinning her to the bed. While she loved that particular feeling, she was ready to take control, so she pushed at Emily, rolling her onto her back, and the blonde rolled on top of her girlfriend as best as she could. It was hard for her to do because of the fact that she couldn't move her legs, and Emily quickly helped her get into position, but Ali didn't mind, too thrilled at the new feel of being the one on top. Ali grabbed Emily's lips again with her own, losing all sense of time as they made out hungrily.

A few minutes later, Ali pulled away, kissing Emily's neck and not really caring if she left a mark. She trailed gentle kisses down Emily's neck before nipping and sucking at her collarbone. Emily moaned in pleasure at the feeling, and Ali pushed the brunette's shirtsleeve out of the way to place light kisses over her shoulder.

"Ali, wait," Emily spoke up.

The blonde pulled away instantly at Emily's request, and she couldn't stop the slight hurt that she knew played out in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I would just really like it if we could take things a little bit slower. I just don't want to move too fast." Emily caught onto the look in Ali's eyes. "It's not that I don't want you because I really, really want you. It's just that I've never slept with anyone before, and I don't think I'm ready to yet."

Ali felt her shoulders slump in relief that Emily's reason for wanting to take things slow had nothing to do with her disability. She didn't want Emily to think that she would break at any moment, and she was glad to hear that the brunette's reasons were completely personal. Ali realized that she must have been silent for more than a second because Emily was looking up at her nervously.

"Don't worry about it, Em," Ali was quick to reassure her girlfriend. "I understand, and I'm perfectly fine with waiting. Sorry I got a little carried away, but if it makes you feel any better, I've never slept with anyone either."

Emily's mouth dropped open in shock. "But what about all those boys at school? They'd kill to go out with you. You've been on dates with people before too. I know it. What about that boy you dated for six months last year? What was his name? James?"

"I know about the rumors that go around the school about me, Em, and I don't expect you not to be suspicious of them. Everyone used to say that I hooked up with someone at every party I went to, but it wasn't true. I'm not a one-night stand kind of girl. And yes, I dated James, and we actually did come close to having sex one night, but I pushed him away because it just didn't feel right. I couldn't figure out why back then. I mean, I really liked him, and our kisses were great, but I just couldn't give myself to him. For a while, I wondered if something was wrong with me because a girl, with my reputation especially, should want to give herself completely to her boyfriend of six months. I mean, I was supposed to have slept with all of these people, but I hadn't actually slept with anyone before. I stopped worrying about it back then because I couldn't figure it out, but now I know that the reason I couldn't give myself to James was because the only person that I ever want to be with is you."

Emily was silent for a moment before answering, and Ali thought that she could detect the faint glimmer of tears in brown eyes. "Wow, Ali. You didn't have to do that for me. Is that why you broke up with him?"

Alison nodded in the dark. "Yes. It never felt right with him again after that."

"You didn't have to save yourself for me. I would never expect that of you. You could've given yourself to James," Emily said quietly.

Ali had to stop a sigh of exasperation from escaping her lips. She thought she had already explained this to Emily well enough, but she decided to use a different approach. "And you didn't have to save yourself for me. You could've given yourself to any girl you wanted."

Emily's brows furrowed in confusion. "I didn't want any other girl. I want my first time to be with you."

"Just like I want my first time to be with you, Em. That's why I couldn't give myself to anyone else." Ali contemplated that thought for a second before adding, "We waited for each other."

A smile spread across Emily's face at the thought. "I guess we did. That's kind of sweet."

Ali smiled brightly as well, leaning forward to kiss Emily again, but their tender moment was interrupted before their lips could even touch by the sound of Emily's cellphone going off. Emily grabbed her phone off the nightstand, and Ali thought that it might be her mother checking up one her, as the older woman sometimes did, but when the brunette rolled her eyes, Ali knew who it was before Emily even told her. "It's Hanna."

"I gathered as much from the eye roll," Ali said, and Emily chuckled.

Ali laid her head down on Emily's chest as the brunette answered the phone, and Alison found that she could hear what Hanna was saying from her new position. "Hey, Em. How was the date?"

Ali could practically see Emily's scowl, even though she wasn't looking at the brunette. "Han, it's midnight. Ali and I are trying to get some sleep."

"Seriously? You guys should have extra energy or something from your date, which we need to talk about, by the way. Give me the deets," Hanna said excitedly.

"There are no deets, Hanna," Emily responded, sounding mildly annoyed. "Ali and I went out to eat at Rive Gauche, and the food was amazing. We had a lovely time, and we are both extremely grateful to you and Mona for setting this up for us, but we are kind of tired now, and we'd like to go to sleep."

Hanna huffed. "Fine, but you have to promise to tell me all about it in the morning."

"Did she give you the deets? How was the date?" Ali recognized Mona's sound in the background, and she honestly wasn't surprised at all to find that Mona and Hanna were hanging out. Ali was glad that the two girls had taken such a fast liking to each other because that made it really easy for Mona to fit in with the new group.

"She said they had a good time and that she liked the food, but she won't give me anything more than that because she is being cranky and saying she wants to go to bed. I probably interrupted them during sex or something." Ali's eyes widened when she heard Hanna say that to Mona because that wasn't too far from the mark, and she smiled when she realized that that statement would only make Emily more annoyed.

"We were _not_ having sex," Emily argued.

"Lame," Mona said. "Don't be such a sourpuss, Emily."

"I'll tell you guys about it tomorrow morning. I promise," Emily said.

"Great. We'll be there at ten. You better be ready to spill." Hanna hung up before Emily had a chance to argue, and the brunette groaned as she put her phone aside and dropped her head back onto the pillow. Ali moved to lie beside Emily so that she could see the brunette.

"I hate it when she does that. I don't want to talk about our relationship with her. You know she'll ask the most awkward questions." Emily whined. "And she's going to be over here at ten in the morning. I wouldn't mind _getting up_ at ten."

Ali raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend, a playful smirk settling across her features. "It's your house, and she invited herself over. If we're not ready to get up when they get here, we don't have to get up. They can wait outside until we're ready to invite them in."

"I like the way you think." Emily chuckled, pulling the blankets up and turning on her side.

Ali scooted closer to Emily, putting her arm around the brunette. "Good night, Em."

Emily snuggled into her girlfriend. "Good night, Ali."

Ali didn't know about Emily, but she truly was tired, and she fell asleep almost instantly with her favorite person in the world tucked safely in her arms.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: So how about that Emison scene from the finale on Tuesday? I personally loved it! And now for a chapter that I think all of you will like! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ali cheered when she shot the ball into Hanna's goal for the fourth time in a row. She, Hanna, and Aria were playing field hockey while Emily was at swim practice. On Mondays and Wednesdays, when the brunette had practice, Ali would normally go out and watch Spencer at field hockey practice, since the blonde used to be on the team as well. Ali was pleasantly surprised though, when Hanna and Aria, and sometimes even Mona, had decided to stay after school and spend time with her on these days. Mona couldn't make it today because she had something to do with her mom, but Hanna and Aria could, and after about an hour of watching Spencer play, the three girls grabbed a spare ball, two spare sticks, and some cones to act as goals, and they began to play their own game on the sidelines.

Aria and Alison decided to play as a team, the brunette pushing the blonde who was holding the stick, against Hanna. One would think that Hanna would have the advantage because she didn't have to coordinate with someone else, which Ali had to admit was sort of hard, but Hanna was not particularly sporty and therefore terrible at field hockey. In other words, Ali was proud to say that she and Aria were kicking Hanna's ass.

Hanna threw her stick to the ground in defeat. "You guys are cheating."

Ali raised an eyebrow at her. "We are not. How are we cheating?"

"Because you play field hockey," Hanna whined. "That's not exactly fair."

"I've never played either," Aria said with a smile. "Plus, we have to coordinate movements with each other, while you move all on your own. You'd think it would be harder for us. We're winning fair and square."

Hanna crossed her arms across her chest with a groan of frustration. "Fine. You're not cheating, but why do you get to be on Ali's team?"

Ali's eyes shined in amusement. "You're the one who said, and I quote, 'You're going down, DiLaurentis.' You wanted to play against me."

"Yeah, well, I don't want that anymore," Hanna pouted.

At that moment, Spencer appeared beside them, and Ali looked past her to see that field hockey practice had ended. "That's okay, Hanna. I'll play her."

The brunette set her water bottle on the ground and accepted the stick that Hanna was now holding out to her. Ali gulped, knowing full well that Spencer would prove to be a much more competent opponent than Hanna. Aria seemed ready to play though, so Ali just nodded in answer to Spencer's questioning glance, and the game began. Ali knew that she was definitely at a disadvantage this time, and needless to say, Spencer easily won this round, shooting the ball into Ali and Aria's goal time after time. Alison was as good as Spencer on the field, if not better, but Aria was not privy to the ways of the game, and so it was much harder for Ali to keep up her own game with the other girl moving her.

After several minutes of being destroyed by Spencer, but not giving up, Alison heard a different voice speak up behind her, a voice that might have just turned the tide of the game. "Need some help?"

"Em!" Ali's eyes lit up when she caught sight of her girlfriend.

Emily grabbed the handles of Ali's chair with a tight grip, smirking up at their opponent. "You ready, Spence?"

"Bring it, Fields," Spencer challenged with a cocky grin.

And bring it Emily did. The brunette was quick and very athletic, and even more than that, she knew Alison better than anyone, so she was much more in sync with the blonde. Somehow, she knew which way that Ali wanted to go, and she also knew when Ali wanted to fake a shot, so the two of them made a much deadlier team and were able to hang in there with Spencer. In the end, Spencer was ahead by two points, and Ali and Emily were driving in for the goal with ten seconds left on their clock, which was actually Hanna's watch. Spencer jumped in front of Ali to block her shot, and Ali, wanting to play dirty, told her legs to kick Spencer's out from under her, but of course that did not happen, and Spencer blocked the shot with a smug smile.

Sometimes, when Alison was particularly excited or upset or having fun, as was the case now, she would forget that she couldn't move her legs. She would normally be quickly reminded of this fact when nothing happened in response to her will, but this time was different. This time, when Ali tried to kick out at Spencer, she had felt her right foot move the slightest bit. Or at least, she thought she had. She wiped the surprise off her face almost as quickly as it had come, and she glanced around at her friends, relieved that none of them had seemed to notice that anything was amiss. Ali wanted to try to move her foot again, but she didn't dare do it in front of all of her friends.

She didn't want them to know. Not yet anyway. She still wasn't sure that it had actually happened, and she didn't want to get anyone's hopes up until she was absolutely sure. She also didn't want it to seem like she had made it up because she wasn't happy with the way she was now and wouldn't be until she could walk again. Ali was happy now. That was for sure, but she still couldn't help but hope with all her heart that she had not imagined the movement.

She didn't try to move her foot again until that night in the shower, when she could be sure that Emily would not walk in on her and catch her. Her nerves were threatening to eat out her insides, and she felt as if this next moment would make or break her life. In a way, she guessed, it would. She took a deep breath and focused on the wall in front of her, willing with all her might for her leg to kick towards it and hoping that she had not been wrong earlier. A wide grin spread across her face when she saw and felt it. An unmistakable twitch.

* * *

Alison still hadn't told Emily what had happened on Monday, and it was now Thursday. She didn't know how to break the news to her girlfriend or her friends or anyone, and she honestly had not been sure if it was just some fluke thing when it had happened, but it had only progressively gotten better. She had started feeling tingles in her legs yesterday, and this morning, on a trip to the bathroom, she had actually gotten her entire leg to move. It was amazing, and she had been so ecstatic, but she was at school, so she couldn't exactly do anything about it. However, she vowed that she would tell Emily first thing after school, wanting her girlfriend to be the first to know.

The day had dragged on until Ali got to her last class of the day, which was art on Thursdays, and suddenly, time wasn't going so slowly for her anymore, but rather, it flew by. Ali's class was working with clay this week, and she was making a clay sculpture of the Eiffel Tower for her project, which she intended to give to Emily when she was finished with it. When the bell rang to signify the end of class, Ali groaned in frustration because she had hoped to finish it today, and she was not quite there yet.

"Alison, you can stay after class to finish that if you want to," Mr. Brumby, the art teacher, told her.

"Are you sure?" Ali asked, not wanting to be too much of a bother.

"I have a faculty meeting, so I won't be leaving until 4. You're welcome to use the room until I need to lock up," he said kindly. "Just make sure to put it in the kiln, and I'll have it ready for you to paint it next class."

"Thank you very much, sir." Ali smiled politely.

Mr. Brumby dipped his head in acknowledgement before heading out the door, on his way to the school library for the faculty meeting. Alison shot a quick text to Emily before getting back to work, smiling when the brunette responded with a text that Ali was starting to turn into Aria. About a half hour had passed when Ali was finally satisfied with the way her Eiffel Tower looked, and she thought that it would look even better once it was painted. Perhaps a bright gold. She was sure that Emily would love it since the two of them had always talked about running away to Paris when they were younger. Ali grabbed her sculpture and wheeled her way into the back room, placing it carefully into the kiln, as Mr. Brumby had instructed, and then she made her way out into the hallways, wheeling herself towards her locker.

The hallways were deserted, all of the teachers at the faculty meeting and all of the students long gone. Ali hated staying after school for this very reason. The school had an almost eerie feel after hours, and Ali found herself ready to get outside into the sunlight, where Emily would be waiting. As she made her way to her locker, she found that she was not here alone, as she had previously thought, because at that moment, Paige stepped out of a nearby classroom with Lucas behind her.

Ali rolled her eyes, not wanting to deal with these idiots when she had some important news to share with Emily. "What do you two losers want now? Have you finally realized what losers you are and come to beg me to make you popular or something?"

"No," Paige said flatly, not offering anything else, and Ali rolled her eyes.

"If I were you, that's what I'd do. I mean, who would want to be a loser for the rest of their lives?" Ali asked in the bitchiest tone she could muster, hoping to get this over with quickly.

"Do I need to remind you that not long ago, you were a loser too? I mean, you still are, but people are just too afraid to show it because they pity you. I may be a loser to everyone here at school, but at least I'm not the one in a wheelchair," Paige sneered.

Ali was losing her patience at hearing the same old spiel from the other girl. She was way beyond believing a word that the jealous girl said. "Alright, Paige. You're really starting to get on my nerves now. Will you please just tell me what you came for so that you can get lost?"

"I came here to kill you," Paige said ominously, and Ali just rolled her eyes. Not this again. "I'm sick and tired of you ruling the school, even after you've been crippled. You should have stayed at the bottom of the food chain, but instead, your bitch friend Mona got everyone to love you again, and I've had enough of it. You're completely pathetic and useless, and you should not be more popular than me. I have tried every single thing that I can think of to bring you down, and I know that the only way that's ever going to work is if I kill you, and this time, I'm not going to miss."

Ali stopped mid-yawn, eyes widening, when Paige pulled out a knife, and the blonde realized that the other girl actually intended to make good on her threat this time. She immediately began to try talking the other girl down. "Paige, don't be silly. You don't want to kill me. If you do, you'll go to jail, and you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life in prison, would you?"

"No one will know it was me," Paige said sadistically. "You fell out of your wheelchair and got cut on the way down by the broken glass from the window that I will momentarily break. You tried yelling for help, but no one was here, and you could not move or reach your phone, so you just lied on the ground and bled to death."

"That will never work," Ali argued. "Emily will know it was you. You're crazy!"

Paige shrugged, face twisting up into an ugly smirk. "Maybe, but at least I'm going to win this time."

Ali tried to get away as fast as she could, wheeling back down the hallway to get to the exit. Ali tried her best to think clearly with the terror that was coursing through her veins at the thought of Paige's psychotic plan. The blonde knew that Emily would see right through it, but by the time the brunette had the chance to see it at all, it would be too late. She only hoped that Emily might get the impulse to come and check on her before Paige had the chance to carry out this insane plan, but she knew that was just wishful thinking. She was on her own.

Even more unsettling was the fact that Paige made no move to come after Alison as she was wheeling away, and Ali gulped when she realized the reason for it. Paige knew that Alison would not be able to get away.

"Oh, that's right. Run away!" she called after Alison.

Paige simply stood there until Ali had rounded the corner, and then she easily ran up behind the blonde and shoved her hard, sending her chair to the other end of the hall. Ali tried her best to slow herself down, and she was able to stop the chair from flipping, but she still slammed into the lockers at the far end of the hallway kind of hard. By some miracle, she did not fall out of her chair, but Paige and Lucas were slowly approaching, and Ali knew what she had to do. She didn't know if she would be able to pull it off, but she was sure that it was the only choice she had. If she didn't try, she would be dead within minutes.

Alison carefully lowered her feet to the ground and grabbed onto the lockers, pulling herself to her feet. She breathed a sigh of relief when her legs held her weight, and she hurried around the corner, leaning heavily against the lockers as she went. She had no idea how this was happening right now, how this was even possible, but she chalked it up to the adrenaline that was coursing through her body at the fear that she was about to be killed.

Ali heard Paige shriek in outrage from somewhere behind her. "What the hell?! You've been faking this whole time?"

The blonde couldn't blame Paige for her assumption, although if Alison had been faking, she did not know why she would need to lean so heavily on the lockers for support, but she knew Paige was crazy, so she didn't even try to argue with her. She was glad though that she had successfully distracted her two perpetrators because she was already halfway down the hallway, and they hadn't even appeared from around the corner. She quickly ducked into the third classroom on the right before they had a chance to see her, pressing herself against the wall and waiting as quietly as she could.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly in anticipation as she waited, knowing that if the two of them decided to come into this room to look for her, then there would be no way for her to escape. She felt her legs starting to give way, and a blinding panic shot through her. She clutched tightly to the door knob beside her, hoping that her legs would hold for a few more minutes. Ali sighed in relief when Paige spoke up from the hallway, doing exactly what Ali had been banking on. "The bitch is hiding somewhere. I'll take the first classroom, and you take the second. Check underneath all the desks, especially the teacher's."

Ali waited a few more seconds before emerging and continuing on her way. Her legs felt a lot wobblier, but she pushed on, knowing that her life literally depended on her getting out those doors. When she was almost at the end of the hallway, she heard Paige behind her. "Get her! She's getting away!"

The blonde heard two sets of footsteps running after her, but she knew that they wouldn't be able to catch her because she was already at the end of the hall. She launched herself into the doors, pushing her way out and sighing in relief as she ran for the stairs. She leaned heavily against the stair rail, trying her best not to fall on the way down.

* * *

Emily's mouth dropped open when she saw Alison making her way down the stairs without her wheelchair, and she was stunned for a few seconds before realizing that something must be seriously wrong. The blonde was leaning heavily against the stair rail, and Emily hurried over to help her, looping her arm around the blonde's waist and guiding her over to a bench so that she could sit down.

"Ali, what the hell is going on?" Emily asked in complete and utter confusion.

"It's Paige and Lucas. They cornered me at school, and Paige said she was going to kill me. She meant it too, and she had a knife. She chased me down the hallway, but I rounded the corner and hid in a classroom." Ali paused, out of breath, and Emily waited patiently for her girlfriend to continue. "Lucky for me, Paige and Lucas checked the wrong classrooms, so I had a chance to escape while they were searching, and by the time they saw me leaving, I was already out the door."

"But how on earth are you walking?" Emily was dumbfounded.

"Earlier this week, my foot was responding when I tried to move it. Not much but a little twitch, but I didn't want to tell anyone because I didn't know if it meant anything. This morning, though, I was in the bathroom, and I moved my leg. I mean, I couldn't kick or anything, just move it out slightly, and I swear that I was going to tell you. I was actually on my way to tell you when Paige intercepted me," Ali explained.

"I can't believe this! This is great news. You should be so excited. You might not need a wheelchair for much longer!" Emily gushed.

Ali gave a tight-lipped smile. "It's great, but we need to get out of here before Paige changes her mind and comes out here to kill us both."

Emily had almost forgotten about Paige in her excitement over Ali's news, but now that she remembered, the reality of the situation sunk in. If Ali hadn't been able to walk, she would most certainly be dead right now, and Paige needed to be stopped once and for all. Emily didn't even hesitate in reaching for her phone and dialing 911.

"Who are you calling?" Ali asked as Emily listened to the phone ring, but the brunette didn't answer.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"I am calling from Rosewood High School. A girl named Paige McCullers has a knife on campus, and she just tried to murder my crippled friend with it. I also know for a fact that she is the one who caused Alison DiLaurentis's accident earlier this year."

"The police are on their way."

Emily hung up the phone the minute that the operator stopped speaking. She wanted nothing more than to see Paige behind bars, and she was determined to stick around and make sure that the cops took her away.

"What if Paige gets away before the cops get here?" Ali asked. "I doubt she'll stick around."

"Don't worry about Paige. I'll deal with her," Emily stood up to go back into the school.

Ali reached out and grabbed Emily's arm to stop her. "No, Em. Let's just leave. She's got a knife right now. She's dangerous."

Emily gave Ali a soft and reassuring look. "No one tries to kill my girlfriend and gets away with it. I can handle Paige. She won't hurt me. She's like completely in love with me or something, remember? I'll just stall her to make sure that she sticks around until the police arrive. Stay here, okay?"

Ali looked like she wanted to argue, but she decided against it, simply nodding. "Just be careful."

Emily knew that wasn't a promise, but she trusted her girlfriend to stay where she was. She could tell that what had happened with Paige had scared the blonde, and Emily only hoped that that would deter her from coming back into the school. She was glad that Ali didn't cry or plead with her not to go inside because she didn't know if she could handle that. She would be so relieved once all of this was over.

Emily ran up the steps and made her way into the school, spotting Paige immediately, where she was seemingly waiting for Alison to come back inside. Anger bubbled up inside Emily at this other girl who kept trying to harm the love of her life, and while she had meant to be calm and rational, she ended up just sounding furious. "Paige!"

"Hello, Emily," Paige said with an evil smirk. "So tell me, when did you find out that your girlfriend was faking being crippled? And why was she doing it? Did she know that it would make her more popular in the end? She is Rosewood's sweetheart now."

"She wasn't faking it, you crazy bitch!" Emily shouted. "The feeling was just starting to return to her legs this week, and I can't believe you made her push herself like that to get up and run away!"

"I don't see how you can be mad at me when every single person in this town knows that that bitch deserves to die. I seriously hope that she pushed herself too hard today and permanently damaged her legs because she does _not_ deserve to walk again. No one wants queen bee Alison to come back out. I meant to just kill the damn bitch once and for all, but it seems she has outsmarted me again." Paige sighed, twirling her knife around in her fingers. "Oh well. It looks like it's time for plan B. Let's see how she responds to the death of her precious girlfriend."

Emily realized the meaning of the other girl's words right as she saw the knife plunging towards her chest. Time seemed to slow down in that moment, and Emily could see the glint of the knife as it made its way to take her life. There wasn't enough time to move out of the way, and she was honestly too frozen in shock to even try. Out of all of the ways that she had expected Paige to respond, this wasn't one of them. Emily only hoped that Ali would understand that the brunette had done this for her.

The knife never hit its mark because, at the last moment, Lucas knocked Paige out of the way, causing her to miss her target. However, the knife still sliced across the side of Emily's neck, blood instantly spurting from the wound.

"What the hell are you doing, Paige?" Lucas looked at Paige with a disgusted frown. "You can't hurt Emily. She's our friend."

"Was, Lucas," Paige snarled threateningly. "She _was_ our friend, but she betrayed us both to be with that bitch girlfriend of hers, and you'd do well to remember that."

Lucas just shook his head. "I certainly don't agree with Emily's choices, but she doesn't deserve to die. I was fine with killing Alison because she is a horrible person, and she has caused a lot of problems for me, but even an idiot can see that she's changed, and I'm out. I'm not okay with killing anyone. I know that you helped me through my drug problem, Paige, and I'm thankful for that, but I can't help you kill people anymore."

Paige's eyes sparked with rage. "I'll tell your mom about all the drugs you did. I'll tell her—"

Lucas held up his hands. "Tell her whatever you want, Paige. I'm out."

Emily looked back at Lucas in wonderment. "She had leverage over you."

He nodded. "I'm sorry for the things we did. At first, we were just playing around, but when Paige got the idea that she wanted to kill Alison, she started threatening me. If I didn't help her, she would tell my mom about all the drugs that I did freshman year. I didn't care then because Alison was the reason I did the drugs in the first place, so it seemed like an easy job, but not anymore."

Emily slowly nodded, keeping her hand clamped tightly over her wound, trying her best to stop the blood flow. "I'll remember that, Lucas. You're not so bad after all."

The fury sparked up inside of her as she turned to Paige again. "You, on the other hand, can never be saved. Your hatred has completely consumed you, and I don't want anything to do with you ever again."

Lucas smiled at Emily, and she nodded to him before they each turned their separate ways. Emily could hear Paige behind her shouting at the top of her lungs, but Emily didn't care anymore, unable to stand being in the same room as the other girl for another moment. She moved quickly out of the building and over to Alison, starting to feel lightheaded, but brushing it off. The minute Alison caught sight of her, the blonde was a worried wreck, and Emily realized that she must look awful. "Em, what happened? You're bleeding. We need to get you to a hospital."

"Paige tried to kill me, but Lucas stopped her. Turns out she was holding something over his head to get him to do her bidding, but I'm fine." Emily brushed Ali's hand away when the blonde reached out to her. "It's just a little scrape."

"That is not just a little scrape. She could have cut your carotid artery." Ali looked more scared than Emily had ever seen her. "You're bleeding to death, and you need to go to the hospital."

"Ali, I'll be fine. If Paige had cut my carotid artery, I'd be dead already. We can stop the bleeding when we get home. Now, come on." Emily turned to begin walking towards the car.

She paused when she realized that Ali wasn't following her, and she wondered if the blonde was just going to sit there if she did not agree to go to the hospital. She turned back to her girlfriend with a confused look.

Ali looked down at the ground. "Em, I don't think I can walk. I think I might have overexerted myself in there because I can't feel my legs anymore."

"Damn it," Emily cursed. "This is all Paige's fault."

Ali raised her eyes up to meet Emily's again, speaking in a calming tone. "Relax, Em. I just need a lift to the car. It's no big deal."

"How can you say that? What if you can never walk again?"

"Then, it won't be any different than before. Just last week, I thought that I would never be able to walk again, and I accepted it. I'm fine with the way I am now. It's okay." Ali tried her best to reassure her girlfriend.

Emily could still see the concern in her girlfriend's eyes, and she thought that the blonde had good reason to worry. The brunette felt a little woozy, as if she were in a dream, but she forced herself to snap out of it, for Ali's sake. "It's not okay. I know you never gave up hope that you might be able to walk again someday, and now you had the chance, and Paige ruined it for you. You'll always regret staying after school today."

Ali shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm alive, aren't I? Paige also could've killed me today, but she failed. I'd much rather be alive and in a wheelchair than dead."

Emily found it hard to follow along with what Ali was saying. She felt a darkness pressing in on her vision, and it honestly scared her. A lot. She tried to brush it off as best as she could, trying to hold herself together so that she could get Ali home safely. "You're right…I guess…Now, let's go…let's go…"

"Are you sure you're alright, Em?" Ali asked with extreme concern.

"Yeah, now let's…go home," Emily reached down to lift Ali from the bench that she was seated upon, but instead she fell into Ali's lap, collapsing into the blonde. Emily tried her best to open her eyes, but she found that she couldn't even do that as Alison began crying above her. "Emily. Emily! Please someone help! Hang in there, Em. The cops should be here soon."

Emily tried her hardest to respond to the blonde, to reassure her, but she could not open her mouth to speak, and she felt the darkness closing in on her as Ali ran soothing fingers through her hair.

"Please just hang in there, Em," the blonde sobbed. "I can't lose you. I love you more than anything else, so please don't die on me. I don't know how to be without you. There is no Alison without Emily."

Emily tried to do as the blonde said. She tried to hold on for Alison, the girl who meant the world to her, but she found herself succumbing to the blackness as the sound of police sirens sprang up in the distance.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: I know I haven't been updating this story more than once a week recently, but since I left you guys with a cliffhanger last chapter, I decided to get this one up a little earlier. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Emily blinked her eyes open and immediately reached for Ali beside her, only to find that the blonde wasn't there. Emily took in her surroundings, noticing that she was in the hospital, and the events from the day before came flooding back to her. She remembered the fear that she had felt at thinking that she was probably going to die. She was extremely relieved to find that she was still alive, and she hoped that Ali was okay.

It seemed that Emily had simply checked the wrong side of the bed because when she turned to look at her other side, Alison was sitting beside her, head resting on the bed, asleep. Emily reached out to touch the blonde's beautiful hair, and she remembered the news that Ali had delivered to her yesterday, shooting a sad smile in her girlfriend's direction when she realized that the blonde was still in a wheelchair. Ali moved at the feel of Emily's hand against her head and blinked open her eyes, looking up with a relieved smile when she saw that Emily was awake.

"What happened?" Emily asked her.

"You needed a blood transfusion, but you're okay now," Alison reassured her. "I'm supposed to ring for the doctor when you wake up."

Emily nodded, but before Alison could even move, the door was opening, and a man in a police uniform stepped through. "Miss DiLaurentis, and great, Miss Fields, I'm glad to see you awake. I'm Officer Cabello, and I'm just here for a few routine questions about the incident."

"Of course. I'd be happy to give you any information you need to know," Emily answered.

"We have Paige McCullers in custody, and we have confirmed that the blood on her knife was an exact match with yours. We have talked to people from your school about Miss DiLaurentis's car accident earlier in the year, and most of them have confirmed that Paige McCullers was the one behind it all. Seemingly, she liked to brag about this, which I'll assure you, is not very smart. According to Miss Alison here, you were the one that McCullers told directly about her plan. Is this true?"

"It is, sir, and she has been hell-bent on killing Alison ever since," Emily replied.

"Then, why haven't you come to us earlier?"

That was a good question. Emily honestly had forgotten that Paige even existed because she had been so caught up with her friends and with Alison. "She never made good on her threats, sir. She simply threatened me and Alison, but I didn't think what she was doing would qualify as more than bullying. I certainly didn't think she'd be foolish enough to try again."

The officer nodded. "Fair enough. She has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree and will most likely be looking at a lifetime prison sentence."

Emily had to stop herself from cheering aloud, not even allowing a smile to touch her features as she replied calmly, "Thank you, sir."

"I have one last question though," Officer Cabello said. "We also have in our custody a young man named Lucas Gottesman. Some students say that he was involved in the whole ordeal, some say he was not, and many say they are unaware. Alison says that she cannot remember whether he was present or not, but she said that you knew him personally. So Miss Fields, was Mr. Gottesman involved in these attacks?"

Officer Cabello was looking down at her with a curious gaze, and Emily knew that all she had to do was say one word, and Lucas would be going to prison with Paige. She wanted to do it because Ali's accident would not have been possible without him, but she found that she couldn't. He had basically been forced to by Paige, and after all, he had saved her life.

"No."

"Very well." Cabello nodded. "We found him on the scene of the crime with McCullers, but he said that he stopped her from killing you. Is this true?"

"Yes, Paige would have stabbed me in the heart if he hadn't knocked her aside," Emily said truthfully.

"That is all I needed to know. He will be released, and Paige McCullers will be sent to prison. You two will be safe from now on," Officer Cabello said with a smile.

"Thank you, sir," Emily said.

Once the officer was gone, Alison turned to Emily, squeezing her hand gently. "Are you okay, Em?"

"I'm fine." Emily squeezed back. "But what about you? You're still in a wheelchair."

Alison looked down at herself, as if just realizing this for the first time. "Yes. But not forever, Em. The doctor talked to me, and she told me that while I overexerted myself yesterday, it seems that I am one of the lucky ones who will actually get to walk again. I should start to gradually regain feeling in my legs soon, and when I do, she recommended a physical therapist to me and told me to call her." Ali bit her lip, smiling a little. "She said that I could be back on my feet in a couple of weeks."

Emily smiled from ear to ear. "Ali, that's fantastic! You're going to walk again."

"Will you come to my physical therapy sessions with me?" Ali asked.

"I wouldn't miss them for the world," Emily promised.

"Good." Ali's smile grew wider. "Now, let's see what we can do about getting you out of here."

* * *

That night, when Emily was finally released from the hospital, it was late, and she felt extremely tired. The doctor had recommended that the brunette take the day off from school the next day as a recovery day, and Emily readily agreed. When they got back to the house, the two of them were just about to go to sleep when both of their phones started ringing at the same time.

Ali rolled over to grab her phone. "It's Mona."

Emily shot her a puzzled look. "Mona's calling me too."

The brunette watched as realization dawned on Alison's face. "A three-way call. She and I used to do three-way calls with Spencer all the time, and now, I bet she's got the rest of our friends on the line. It's a six-way call."

Emily groaned, appreciating her friends' concern, but just wishing she could go to sleep after the events of the day. "Do we have to answer it?"

"I will," Ali said. "I'll put it on speaker."

Emily nodded, and Ali picked up the phone, immediately bombarded by the sound of not Mona's, but Hanna's voice. "We heard about what happened! Are you guys okay?"

Ali chuckled. "We're fine, Hanna."

"Is it true that Paige is going to jail? We heard she tried to kill you," Mona said.

"She did, but I got away, and then Emily went back in to try to stall her, but she got cut. She had to have a blood transfusion, and she's probably going to stay home tomorrow to recover. Therefore, I'll be staying home as well, so don't worry when you don't see us."

"Ali, I can drive you to school if you want," Spencer offered.

"No," Ali said, "Emily stayed home with me whenever I needed a day off, so I'm going to repay the favor this time."

"I'm just really glad that both of you are okay," Aria said. "Where's Emily? Is she sleeping?"

"Trying." Emily finally spoke up. "But you guys are keeping me awake."

"Oh, we're sorry. We'll leave you guys alone then," Aria apologized, and it did not surprise Emily in the slightest that she would be the first one to feel bad. _Or maybe the only one,_ Emily thought in amusement.

"Wait," Ali said, and Emily looked at her curiously before reading the answer in the blonde's eyes. "I have something to tell you guys, and it's that I'm going to be able to walk again. I started having feeling in my legs again earlier this week, and that's how I escaped from Paige. I got up, and I ran because I had to. I overexerted myself, so I probably won't be able to start physical therapy for another week or so, but I won't be in a wheelchair for much longer."

"Really? That's great, Ali!" Hanna said excitedly.

"We're so happy for you," Spencer said.

Emily heard as the blonde thanked them and talked on with them about the news, but the brunette honestly could not keep herself awake for another moment longer. She fell asleep to the sound of the voice that she loved more than anything else in the world, and she hoped that she would have that opportunity for years to come.

* * *

Emily was awoken by the sound of someone screaming her name, and she blinked open her eyes to see her mother standing at the end of her bed. Ali jolted violently at the sound, clearly scared out of her skin, and Emily gave her mother an annoyed but curious look.

"Mom, what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be back until Thanksgiving."

"I decided to come home a few weeks early to surprise you. What happened while I was gone? Are you okay?" her mom asked with concerned eyes.

Emily blinked in confusion. "I'm fine, Mom. Why wouldn't I be?"

Emily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and followed her mom's line of sight. She realized then that her mother was staring in slight horror at Ali's wheelchair, and everything clicked. Emily's mother thought the wheelchair was hers.

"Oh, no, Mom, that's not mine. It's Ali's," Emily explained. "She got into a bad car accident, and I've been taking care of her."

Pam instantly looked relieved. "That's quite nice of you, Emily, but I'm sure that's a lot of work. Where are her parents?"

"They're out of town," Emily said, not wanting to disclose too much because she wasn't sure if Ali would be comfortable in her telling her mother everything. "I really don't mind though, Mom. Ali's my best friend."

"My parents are always out of town," Ali announced. "They say it's for business trips, but I know it's just to get away from me and Jason. They've never cared about us, and your daughter has been very sweet in letting me stay here."

Pam looked at Ali sympathetically. "Of course. I didn't know. You can stay here as long as you need to. Do you know when you'll be able to walk again?"

"Soon," Ali said with a toothy grin that warmed Emily's heart. "The doctor originally said never, but I've been regaining feeling in my legs this week, and I should be able to start physical therapy soon."

"Well, I'll leave you two to wake up a bit more, but maybe when you're ready, we can have breakfast, and then you can fill me in on what's been happening while I've been gone."

The two girls nodded in agreement, and then Pam Fields left the room. Emily couldn't help but laugh, and Alison looked at her like she had just grown two heads. "What are you laughing at?"

"My mom doesn't know what she just asked for," Emily said, thinking of all the things that had actually happened while the older woman had been gone.

"We better eat quick then." Ali chuckled. "We have a lot to tell her."

* * *

After a quick breakfast of cereal, the three of them settled on the couches in the living room, and Alison and Emily told Pam of everything that had happened while she had been gone, including their most recent encounter with Paige. The older woman looked a little white-faced as they told of the danger that they had both been in yesterday, and Emily sighed as she realized that her mother was never going to want to leave her alone in Rosewood again. The brunette couldn't say she would blame her mother though. For a boring small town like Rosewood where nothing ever happened, a lot had happened in the past few months.

After Pam's initial shock had died down, the three of them just spent the morning talking and watching a bit of TV. Emily was happy that her mother was being so nice to Alison because she knew that the older woman had never been the blonde's biggest fan in the past, but when Alison went into the kitchen to grab a snack, Emily realized that her mother was being a little too nice.

Ali's wheelchair caught on the door frame, and Pam jumped from her chair as the blonde pulled back to readjust herself. Emily knew that Ali was completely capable of navigating around the house by herself now, save for going up and down the stairs, and she knew that Ali would be annoyed if Pam kept hopping up to do every little thing for her. Emily followed as her mother wheeled Alison into the kitchen.

"What did you need, sweetheart?" she asked the blonde.

"I just wanted a bag of Cheetos," Ali said, looking a little overwhelmed and put off by Pam's behavior.

"Of course," Pam said, grabbing the Cheetos from the pantry. Emily watched as her mother handed the bag of Cheetos to Ali. The blonde thanked her politely and was just about to make her way out of the kitchen when Pam grabbed the handles of the chair.

"Don't worry about that. I've got it." Pam then proceeded to wheel Alison back into the living room and help her get settled again on the couch, fussing over her the way that Emily had at first.

"Mom, could I talk to you for a second?" Emily asked.

Pam looked up with a confused look, but she nodded anyway. "Sure, honey."

Once they were both in the kitchen, Emily closed the door so that Alison would not overhear her, and Pam gave her a questioning glance. "What's this about, Emily?"

"Mom, don't do that." Emily cut right to the chase.

"Don't do what? Help Alison? She needs help, honey. You saw that she was having trouble," Pam argued.

Emily sighed in exasperation. "I know she was having trouble, but she was perfectly capable of getting those Cheetos on her own. You can't just do everything for her. I learned the hard way that she hates that. There are a lot of things that she needs help with, and you need to let her come to you. You can't just decide for her what she can and can't do. I know being in a wheelchair frustrates her sometimes, so I try to let her do whatever she can so that she feels like she can still do things on her own."

Pam nodded slowly, looking back up at Emily with apologetic eyes. "I get what you're saying, and I'm sorry if I've been acting a little overbearing. It's just in my nature as a mother to want to take care of her, just as I would want to do for you. Especially after what the two of you have been through."

"I know, Mom, and it's fine. Just from now on, only do something for her if she asks you to, okay?"

Pam just looked at Emily in wonder for a moment, and Emily wondered what she had done to provoke such a response. She was about to ask, but her mother started talking again before she could. "Wow, Emily. You've become so responsible, and I'm very proud of you."

Emily smiled at her mother's praise. "Thanks, Mom."

* * *

For dinner, Emily's mother made shrimp scampi pasta, and it was fantastic. While Emily did not normally care for shrimp, this was one of her favorite meals, and she was glad her mother had chosen it because Alison loved shrimp. Her mom and Ali got along very well all throughout dinner, and Emily was thankful to her mother for not talking any further about the accident. They just talked about school and trivial stuff like that, and Emily honestly zoned out a little until she was pulled back to attention by one of her mother's questions.

"So, Alison, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Of course not," Alison answered immediately.

Emily closed her eyes for a moment, really nervous that Alison was about to disclose the fact that they were in a relationship to her mother. The way that Ali answered made it sound like she thought it would be crazy for her to have a boyfriend. She almost seemed repulsed by the idea, and while Emily was glad that her girlfriend was so committed to her, she was also worried that the blonde's tone of voice would clue Emily's mother in to what was going on between the two of them. Pam knew that her daughter liked girls and was fine with it, but Emily didn't know if her mom would be so fine with her loving this particular girl.

Emily could tell by her mom's confused face that Ali's tone had not gone unnoticed. "You sound like you having a boyfriend would be a ridiculous idea. I'd think that a pretty girl like you would have boys falling all over her."

Ali's eyes widened, and she scrambled for an excuse. "It's just—I wasn't the most popular person in the school after my accident, and I mean, it's better now, but still. I don't think anyone will want to date me right now, and I honestly have enough to worry about."

Emily was relieved that Ali didn't just blurt out anything about their relationship. The blonde seemed to sense that Emily didn't want her mother to know yet, or perhaps she just didn't want to make Emily's decision for her.

"Well, you'll be out of your chair soon. Isn't that exciting?'

"Yeah, it's really great, even though I had finally come around to the idea of being in my chair for life. I'm really excited though that that won't be the case. Soon, we'll be able to go ice-skating again, Em, like we always used to." Ali smiled warmly at her girlfriend. Emily perked up at the mention of ice skating, and she wished that she could just lean over and kiss her girlfriend right then and there, or at least squeeze her hand, but she didn't want to risk it.

She settled instead for simply returning the blonde's smile. "I would love that."


	17. Chapter 17

It wasn't long before feeling began to return to Ali's legs, and she and Emily called the physical therapist immediately. She was a nice young woman named Dr. Soria who got right to work with Alison, and Emily was right beside her the entire time. They started with stretches and things like that, but soon enough, Ali was ready to try walking again, using rails as support of course. Emily encouraged her every step of the way, and while the blonde fell multiple times and sometimes even got discouraged by the difficult process, Emily would never let her give up, trying to push her as hard as she could go to recover as soon as possible.

A month later, after another session of physical therapy, Dr. Soria finally approved that Alison was ready to get out of her chair. The blonde had been doing much better lately, having not fallen once in over a week, and while she still relied on the rails for support, the doctor decided that she was ready to walk again with the aid of a four-point cane. Emily could feel the excitement buzzing off of Alison, and it proved to be infectious because the brunette was extremely excited for her girlfriend as well.

Emily tried her best to pay attention while the doctor talked to them about how to proceed, the main thing being that Alison needed to avoid going up and down the stairs for a while longer. When they were finally released, Emily hung back with Alison as the blonde slowly made her way to the car, encouraging her girlfriend all the way.

When they got back to the house, Ali took her first steps inside, and Emily smiled brightly at her, finally allowing her excitement to come through full force as she shut the door. "This is amazing, Ali. You can walk again!"

Ali couldn't stop the huge smile from spreading across her face as well. "I'm excited too. I didn't think this day would ever come."

"I am so proud of you, Alison. You are making such good progress," Emily said.

"I couldn't have done it without you," Alison answered truthfully.

"I love you so much." Emily felt like she might never stop smiling again for as long as she lived.

"I love you too."

Emily pulled her girlfriend in for a searing kiss, reveling in the way that the blonde's body molded perfectly with hers. As the brunette deepened the kiss, she heard Alison's cane drop to the ground and felt the blonde's hands wrap tightly around her girlfriend's waist to keep herself steady as she moved her lips against the brunette's. Emily hummed in contentment, allowing herself to get lost in the moment…until the sound of her mother's raised voice shattered it. "What is going on here?"

"Mom!" Emily pulled her lips back from Alison's, eyes widening at the sight of her mother, but she did not move away, since Ali was holding onto her waist for support. The brunette honestly did not expect her mother to be home at this hour since the older woman was supposed to leave the house about an hour after Ali and Emily arrived at the therapy session. "I thought you were at the grocery store."

"I was running a bit late because your father called to check up on us, and I wanted to talk to him while he had free time. I just got off the phone with him, and I was just about to head out the door when I come out here and see…this." Pam gestured to the two girls in front of her, not looking particularly pleased.

Emily sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Mom, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you eventually. I promise I was. I mean, I wanted to, but I was afraid that you would react badly. Kind of just like this, actually."

Pam just raised an eyebrow. "Emily, can I talk to you alone for a moment?"

"Fine," Emily said, gesturing for her mother to head into the kitchen.

The brunette quickly bent down to grab her girlfriend's cane from where the other girl had pushed it to the ground and handed it back to the blonde. Now that Pam was out of sight, Ali gave Emily a quick kiss on the lips to reassure her before hobbling into the living room to sit on the couch. Emily walked into the kitchen and shut the door behind her before turning to her mom.

"You're seeing Alison?" Pam asked before Emily could even get a single word in.

Emily nodded surely. "Yes, Mom, and I've been in love with her for quite some time now. Is there a problem with that?"

"Of course there is a problem," Pam said, clearly struggling to keep her voice down. "You know that I am perfectly fine with you dating girls, but with Alison, you're just setting yourself up to get your heart broken, and I am not okay with that."

"Ali's not going to break my heart, Mom," Emily argued. "She loves me."

"She doesn't love you. She's using you. The only reason that she is agreeing to go out with you right now is because she needs someone to take care of her. I've known girls like her before, and trust me when I say that the moment she is able to walk again, she won't want anything to do with you anymore."

Emily shook her head, unable to believe the words that were coming out of her mother's mouth. She wondered where the woman even came up with this sort of stuff, and she decided to point out the obvious flaw in the older woman's argument. "That's insane. She didn't know she was going to be able to walk again. What if she stayed in a wheelchair for the rest of her life? Was she just going to 'pretend' until she died?"

"I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but Alison is not a good person, honey." Pam took on a gentler tone of voice. "I still remember the time last year when we went to see Hanna in the school's production of Macbeth. Alison was there, and when I asked you why you wouldn't go over and say hello to her, do you remember what you told me? You said that Alison didn't want to be seen with you in public because you were a loser, and it would hurt her reputation. I was willing to let it slide because you had already taken such a liking to her, and from what I could tell, she was always nice to you when she was over here. I might have been willing to allow you to remain friends with this girl, but she is not a good girlfriend for you. She may be fine with dating you right now because she is no longer really 'cool' because of her disability, but what about when she can finally walk on her own again? Do you really trust that she will still want to be with you then?"

Emily allowed herself to pause and consider her mother's words. She could certainly see where her mom was coming from, and she knew it was crazy, but what if the older woman was right? What if Alison went right back to her old ways when given the opportunity and decided that she didn't want to be with Emily anymore? The brunette quickly shook the thoughts away, knowing that they were most likely ridiculous and knowing even more that she couldn't afford to be anything but certain of Ali's affection for her in front of her mom right now.

"Of course she will. She loves me, and I love her, and there's nothing you can do about it," Emily said defiantly.

"Oh, but I can," Pam said forcefully. "You'll realize in time that I am right, but for now, I don't want Alison living here anymore. She is no longer welcome in this house."

Emily was shocked at this sudden turn of events. She had expected her mother to force her to break up with Alison, but for some reason, it had never occurred to Emily that her mother might want Alison gone. "You can't do that, Mom. She still needs my help. She's not allowed to use the stairs yet, and she has stairs in her house."

"Her parents can come back and take care of her," Pam said coldly. "I'm tired of hearing this, Emily. She is not your responsibility."

Emily tried to blink back the tears that were rapidly springing to her eyes, her voice taking on a pleading tone. "Her parents can't come back right away. At least let her stay here for one more night."

Pam looked furious, like she was about to explode at the mere request, and Emily knew that she was about to lose the argument. She started to walk back out of the room to tell her girlfriend the news, and she was almost out the door when she heard her mother speak up behind her. "One more night, and then she leaves."

"Thank you," Emily said immediately before scrambling out the door.

She wanted to get out of that room before her mother had the chance to change her mind. She knew that she was lucky to have gotten this one night out of her mom at all, but her relieved mood turned somber as she trekked into the living room to tell Ali the news. Emily plopped down on the couch beside her girlfriend, and she sat in silence for a few moments before finally speaking. "I thought you'd be listening."

"I thought about it," Alison admitted, "but I figured that it would probably be best if I didn't. I assume your mother doesn't think too highly of me."

"You assume correct," Emily said miserably. "She wants you gone."

"I figured as much," Ali said in a similar tone, "but it's okay. Spencer would be more than happy to take care of me, especially now that I can walk again, for the most part."

"I got her to agree that you could stay for one more night, so we better make it special," Emily said.

"Of course," Alison said with warmth in her blue eyes, "but I just don't get it. Why does your mom hate me so much?"

Emily sighed. "She thinks you're using me because she knows what you used to be like at school. She used to go with me to some school events where I refused to go up and talk to you in public. She specifically referenced that time when she went with me to see Hanna in Macbeth, and you were there to see Spencer, and I stupidly told her that I couldn't talk to you in front of people because it would bring your popularity down."

Ali nodded, indicating that she could at least see where Emily's mom was coming from. Then, a small smile touched the blonde's lips as she remembered the event in question. "What your mom doesn't know is that we met up in the bathroom during the second half and hung out until someone else came in. I could never go anywhere where you were without talking to you."

"I know that, but my mom has no idea. I'm pretty sure she thinks that you're nothing but a stone cold bitch and that you're just faking the person that you are at my house," Emily admitted.

"I understand, but in reality, it was the stone cold bitch that I was faking," Ali paused a moment, seemingly contemplating something before she shared her thoughts with Emily. "I think it's because of the way my parents never cared about me, so I never really knew how to love, and I was just so hurt that I wanted to take this pain out on everyone else and make them feel the same way, you know? I thought it would make me feel better, but it only made me feel worse."

Emily heard Ali's entire statement, but she was still fixated on one part of it, a part of it that she may have helped Alison get through unknowingly. "Do you know how to love now?"

Ali turned a smile up to Emily. "I'm learning."

"Good," Emily said. "What do you want to do now? Are you too tired, or do you want to go take a walk outside?"

"I'd love to take a walk. It's such a beautiful day out," Ali remarked.

"Okay. Let's go show anyone who might be watching that you are back on your feet."

* * *

Pam arrived home early from her shift at the police station, a job which she had picked back up since her return to Rosewood. She was supposed to be there for another hour, but it was a slow day at work, and so her boss had allowed her to return home early. Pam was eager to get back to her house, not liking the idea of leaving Alison alone with her daughter. She hated the idea of her daughter loving the blond girl at all. Pam knew exactly what kind of person Alison was, and she wanted her out of Emily's life before she had the chance to break the brunette's heart. Pam knew that her daughter would be angry at her for splitting them, but if it would ensure that Emily would not get hurt, then it was a price she was willing to pay.

When Pam arrived at the house, she heard voices coming from the family room, and so she went into the kitchen unseen, peering through the half-open doorway to see Emily and Alison seated on the couch, facing away from her.

"Since it's your last night here, why don't we dance together now that you can actually stand on your own?" Emily was asking. "It'll make up for Homecoming when you couldn't exactly dance."

"It didn't matter that I couldn't dance, Em." Alison reached up a hand to cup Emily's cheek, and Pam recoiled at the sight. "I still had an amazing time that night."

"So is that a yes?" Emily asked excitedly.

"Of course I'll dance with you, Em. Will we be dancing to our song?"

"Yeah. I've got it on my iPod." Emily grabbed her iPod and plugged it into the stereo.

"I'd be offended if you didn't," Alison said with a huge smile.

Pam listened as the song started, quickly identifying it as a cover of _Every Breath You Take_ as she watched Emily pull Alison up from the couch. Alison wrapped her arms around Emily's waist to steady herself, and then Emily's arms came up to wrap around Alison's neck, pulling the blonde's body flush against her own. Pam felt revolted at the sight of Alison pressed so closely against her daughter, and she had to stop herself from running in there and pulling them apart, but she felt this revulsion slowly fading as she watched the two of them sway to the song together.

About halfway through the song, Alison got a playful twinkle in her eyes. "Twirl me around."

"What?" Emily asked.

"Twirl me around," Alison repeated.

Emily looked at the blond girl in slight concern. "Are you sure?"

"Come on, Em, just do it," Alison pleaded. "It'll be fun, and I've always wanted to try it."

"Maybe we should wait until your legs are fully healed," Emily suggested.

The blonde's eyes shone with mischief. "Now where's the fun in that?"

Emily finally caved, grabbing Alison's hand and twirling the blonde under her arm. As Pam had expected, Alison tripped over her own feet and fell towards the ground. Emily had clearly been expecting this too because she immediately leaned down and caught the other girl before lowering them both to the ground, where they promptly burst into a fit of giggles.

Pam's heart softened at the scene in front of her, the two girls reminding her a lot of she and Wayne when they used to go out to clubs. He was constantly getting the dance moves wrong and tripping over his own feet, and the two of them would normally end up laughing, exactly like the two girls in front of her now.

There was no denying the love that was shining in both of the girls' eyes at the moment, even Alison's, and Pam had to admit that no one could fake the kind of emotion that she saw in front of her. The two girls were having so much fun together, and they seemed so carefree in this moment that it almost made Pam feel bad about trying to take this away from them. Since they hadn't seen her yet, Pam decided not to disturb them, backing out of the kitchen and grabbing her car keys again. She made a quick stop in her room to grab a book that she had been meaning to read, and then she headed to the public library to give the two of them some more time to themselves. Perhaps Pam would have to rethink her decision about kicking Alison out of the house.

* * *

Emily awoke to the smell of something good coming from the kitchen. After dancing for a while, Emily and Alison had promptly collapsed on the couch to rest, and it seemed that the two of them had fallen asleep. Ali blinked open her eyes as well when she felt Emily shift underneath her, blearily lifting her head from its previous position against the brunette's chest. "Hey, what time is it?"

Emily looked at her wrist, only to find that she didn't have her watch on. "I don't know, but it smells like it's time for dinner."

Alison sat up, and Emily slipped out from under her, walking into the dining room, where her mother was just setting out three plates of roast, Ali following closely behind her. Emily's stomach rumbled at the sight of the meat, and she promptly took a seat at the table, Ali sitting down beside her. Pam looked up and smiled at them, which Emily found a bit odd, considering how furious her mother had been earlier, but the younger girl wasn't going to argue.

"I was just about to come and get you," her mother said.

"You could've gotten us up earlier. We didn't even mean to fall asleep," Emily said as she lifted her fork up to her mouth, the delicious flavor of the meat bursting over her tongue.

Pam smiled warmly at Emily. "I know, but you two looked so cute curled up on the couch together like that, and I didn't want to disturb you."

Emily wondered if her mother had been hit over the head at work today, and she had to stop the food from dropping out of her mouth. "We did?"

"Yes. Listen, Emily, maybe I was too quick to judge Alison," Pam said. "I've been thinking about this a lot, and I've decided that I'm not going to kick Alison out of the house. She can continue to stay here, and I support your relationship with her."

Now, Emily was sure that her mother had suffered some sort of head injury at work. Just this morning, the older woman had been so sure that Alison was a terrible person who was just going to turn her back on Emily when all of this was over. She had even started to get Emily to believe it, and the brunette wondered what on earth could have possibly changed her mom's mind between then and now.

"What happened?" she asked curiously. "What made you change your mind?"

"Honestly, I got off of work early today, and I came home to see the two of you dancing in the family room," Pam confessed. "You were having so much fun together, and you reminded me of Wayne and I when we were younger. There was no mistaking the happiness and love in either of your eyes, and who am I to take that away from you? I had my doubts about this relationship before, but now that I've seen just how genuine it is, I can honestly say that I will support it from here on out."

A wide grin spread across Emily's face as she looked at her mother. "Thanks, Mom. You'll never know how much I appreciate that."

"You're welcome, honey, and I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I had no right to say the things that I did," Pam said with apologetic eyes.

"It's okay, Mom, but you said you got off of work early. Were you here this whole time?" Emily asked.

"No. I went to the library to give you some space," the older woman answered.

Emily frowned. "Mom, you didn't have to do that. We wouldn't have cared if you stuck around."

"But the two of you were having such a great time, and I didn't want to interrupt. Think of it as repayment for what I said this morning. Besides, I finally got started on that book I bought last month." Pam shot her daughter a smile and a wink.

Emily's smile grew impossibly wider. "Thank you so much, Mom. For everything. I promise I'll never forget this. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

"I want to thank you, too, Mrs. Fields, for supporting my relationship with your daughter. I know I have done many regrettable things in the past and that I don't deserve Emily's love after the way I treated her, but I will assure you that I don't ever want to be the person that I was ever again. Your daughter helped me to see that, and now I am trying my hardest to be as good as I can be for Emily," Ali said, speaking up for the first time.

"And I'm sorry that I misjudged you," Pam answered. "You may not have made the best decisions in the past, but I see now that you are the best thing for Emily."

Ali dipped her head in gratitude. "Thank you."

The two girls ate the rest of their meals in Pam's good graces, and Emily felt extremely relieved that her mother had come around to the idea of their relationship so quickly. Emily thought it would take her mother forever to accept it, and she had honestly been starting to think that, in the future, she would have to marry Ali against her mother's will. She was glad that her mom seemed to be fine with it now though because she didn't want to have to choose between doing what her mother wanted and continuing her relationship with her girlfriend. Emily was really happy that her mom finally knew about her relationship, even if the older woman had found out by accident and then had succeeded to completely freak out about it, and she was even happier that her mother now approved of it. When Emily laid down to go to sleep that night, with her arms wrapped snugly around Ali, she felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off of her chest.

* * *

 **AN: So Pam Fields knows about their relationship now, and she is okay with it! Woohoo! :D**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I just wanted to let you know that this story will be drawing to a close soon. I am thinking two more chapters, so thank you to all of you who have continued to read and support this story along the way!**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Hello, Emisonians! We have reached the penultimate chapter of this story. It is definitely one of my favorites, so I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Alison woke up on Christmas morning to see that Emily was still asleep, so she opted to just lie in bed. She didn't want to wake Emily up, even though she knew how excited the brunette would be to find that it was Christmas, and she didn't want to leave her girlfriend either. Alison hated Christmas. While she had had a few good Christmases, most of them had been awful. While most kids always thought of Christmas with excitement, it wasn't anything more than an ordinary day at Ali's household, and she felt resentment towards her mother for this fact.

Ali hadn't even known that Christmas existed until she was four years old. She remembered all of the kids in her preschool class talking about it and asking each other what they wanted from Santa. Ali had no idea who this Santa person was, but she was curious, so she asked her best friend June, who promptly told her everything about Santa and how he was supposed to bring kids presents every year. When Ali had gotten home that evening, she had asked her mother why Santa never came to visit her on Christmas, and her mother responded that Ali had been on the naughty list every year.

The next year, Alison tried her best to be as good as she could possibly be, making sure to be on her best behavior at all times. She thought that Santa would definitely come that year. She and Jason had even chopped down one of the smaller trees in their backyard to serve as a Christmas tree, but when Ali ran down the stairs on Christmas morning, there were no presents sitting underneath the tree.

The next year was when Alison's parents began going away on business trips, and they were never home for Christmas again after that. As she got older, Alison realized that they deliberately avoided the house around this time because they didn't want to have to deal with her disappointment anymore when she didn't get any presents. Ali didn't mind though. She actually preferred for it to be this way because she and Jason got to decorate the entire house, and they actually got a real tree that year from a place that sold them just down the street, and a few of Jason's friends helped them to get it into the house. Ali had so much fun that year, decorating and living in a house filled with Christmas things, and it had been the first year that the young blonde felt that Christmas had actually come. To Ali's utter surprise, Santa came to her house that Christmas for the first time.

* * *

 _Ten Years Earlier_

 _Alison woke up that morning bursting with excitement, sure that Santa would come this year. Not only had she been on her best behavior, but she and Jason had made sure to decorate the house and leave out cookies and milk. Santa had to have come this year. He just had to. She opened the door to her room and ran down the hallway to Jason's room, hurrying inside and jumping excitedly onto his bed, where she couldn't stop herself from bouncing up and down in excitement._

 _"Wake up, Jason! It's Christmas morning!" she shrieked with childlike joy._

 _"That's right, Aliboo." Jason lovingly ruffled her hair. "Let's go see if Santa came."_

 _Ali grabbed Jason's hand and pulled him downstairs, laughing excitedly as she made her way into the living room to look under the tree that she and her brother had decorated. To her surprise, there were actually presents under the tree this time. Despite all of the hope she had been feeling that Santa would come, she hadn't believed that it would actually happen. She squealed in delight as she raced over to grab the first present with her name on it. She quickly tore through the wrapping paper on each gift until she finally had nothing left to open, and then she surveyed her presents with satisfied eyes. She had gotten a My Little Pony castle with some ponies and accessories to go along with it, the new Tinker Bell movie, and a make-your-own jewelry kit. Jason was looking equally happy about his new stereo and the two Pink Floyd albums that he had received._

 _"Do you like your presents?" he asked, looking up to meet Alison's eyes._

 _"I love them! They're so awesome," Ali said with a huge grin. "Do you like yours?"_

 _"Of course I do," Jason said. "It's what I asked for, after all."_

 _Ali flung herself into her brother's arms. "Merry Christmas, Jason."_

 _"Merry Christmas, Aliboo," Jason murmured into his baby sister's soft golden hair._

 _Once Ali had pulled away, she turned excited blue eyes up to Jason. "Do you want to play My Little Pony with me?"_

 _"Sure." Jason smiled warmly at his sister and then moved to begin helping her set up the castle._

* * *

Ali now smiled at the thought. She had loved it when Christmases had been like that, and that first Christmas was one of her favorite memories of all time. She could still remember that feeling of childlike wonder that she had felt upon first seeing those presents under the tree, and she wondered if that was why Emily loved Christmas so much. The brunette's every Christmas must have been a good one, and by the way she had gone all-out on decorating the house for Christmas, starting the day after Thanksgiving, it was clear that Emily's childlike excitement over the holiday had never really faded.

Now, Alison knew that it was Jason who had been getting her the presents when she was younger and that his own presents had been gifts from his friends, who had felt bad that he didn't get anything of his own for Christmas. Ali knew that she would have found out eventually because she could not very well believe in Santa Claus forever, but she really wished that she hadn't found out as early as she had and especially not in the way that she had.

* * *

 _Seven Years Earlier_

 _Ali was nine years old this Christmas, and she could not wait to see what Santa had put under the tree. When she blinked open her eyes, she sprang out of bed and ran into the hallway, heading for the stairs. She didn't even bother knocking on Jason's door this year because she knew that she was on her own this Christmas. Jason spent all of his time these days going out and getting drunk with his loser high school friends, and he hadn't even bothered to help her decorate for Christmas this year. Her best friend Spencer, who lived next door, came over to help Ali decorate, and she had offered to allow the blonde to stay with her for Christmas that year, assuring her that Santa would probably know where she was and deliver her presents along with Spencer and Melissa's, but Ali didn't want to chance it, so she had stayed at her house._

 _She knew that Jason wasn't getting any presents this year because he was most definitely on Santa's naughty list, but Ali had tried as hard as she could to be good this year, making sure to be nice to Jason even when he was mean to her. It had been hard, but she had done it because she wanted the new Nintendo DS and a few games to go along with it for Christmas. It was all that she had asked Santa for this year when she and Spencer had gone to see him at the mall. Everyone had one, and Ali couldn't wait until she finally had one of her own._

 _When Alison got downstairs, she stared at the Christmas tree in open-mouthed shock. There were no presents underneath it. She couldn't understand why. She had been so good this year. What could she possibly have done wrong? An idea dawned on her in that moment, and she suddenly realized why there were no presents in front of her. She turned on her heel and ran back upstairs._

 _"Jason!" Ali angrily pounded on her brother's locked door. "Jason, open this door!"_

 _A few seconds later, Jason appeared in the doorway, looking as if he had just rolled out of bed. "What could you possibly want now, Alison? I'm trying to sleep."_

 _Ali didn't even have any time to be hurt over the fact that he had called her by her full name, something he had never done before this year, because she was too upset over what she had just seen downstairs. "You took my presents!"_

 _Jason blinked the sleep out of his eyes, looking as if it was way too early in the morning for him to deal with a screaming nine-year-old. "What are you talking about?"_

 _Ali stamped her foot in impatience. "You were jealous because you didn't get any presents this year, so you got up before me and stole mine!"_

 _Jason rolled his eyes in annoyance, finally understanding what this was about. "Listen. I didn't steal your stupid presents. There were no presents. You didn't get any this year because you were on Santa's naughty list."_

 _"No, I wasn't. I made sure that I was extra good this year so that I could get the new Nintendo DS. I can't have been on the naughty list," Ali argued. "Besides, that's exactly what someone who took my presents would say."_

 _Ali was now sure that her brother had stolen her presents and that he was hiding them in his room. He must have wanted a DS as well, but he hadn't been good enough to get one, so he had taken hers, and Ali wasn't having any of his lies. She had worked hard to get that DS. She had been so good, and there was no way that she was leaving now without it._

 _Jason just shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe Santa forgot about you this year."_

 _"Santa never forgets," Ali shot back confidently, crossing her arms over her chest._

 _That caused Jason to snap, knowing that he would not be able to get rid of this petulant child unless her yelled at her. "Do you always have to be so damn annoying? Santa_ _doesn't even exist."_

 _Ali's facial expression did not change, nor did her confidence drop. "You actually expect me to believe that? I know he exists, Jason. He brings us presents every single year."_

 _"Haven't you ever wondered why you never got presents before Mom and Dad left, but every other kid did? It's because there is no Santa Claus. I got those presents for you every year! Now, will you get the hell out of my room?!" Jason shouted._

 _Ali stood there in a silent shock for a moment, trying to process what she had just heard. When it finally sunk in, she fought to blink back her tears. "You—what? How could you?"_

 _"Yes. It was all me. I don't know how in the world anyone could believe in something as ridiculous as Santa Claus anyway. Now, get out of here!"_

 _Alison didn't say anything in response. She simply ran into her room and slammed the door, throwing herself down on her bed, where she finally allowed herself to cry. This was the worst Christmas ever._

* * *

Ali had hated Jason for what he had done for a long time, but as she grew older, she finally realized that she was grateful to Jason for the three Christmases that he had worked extra hard to make sure were special for her. He had saved up money each year to buy her presents for Christmas, and he even placed his gifts from his friends under the tree, all to allow her to experience the magical belief that Santa was real, something that he had never even gotten to experience himself. Sure, she was mad at him for going off the rails in high school and abandoning her in favor of getting drunk with his friends, but she still really appreciated the way that he had been there for her when she was little. Besides, could she really blame him for the way that he had started to act in high school? It's not like she had turned out much better.

She didn't know why these memories were coming back up this Christmas, although they had every Christmas since that one fateful day. She had hoped that it would be different this time because she had Emily, but she had too much time to think yesterday, and she knew that had been her mistake. Emily's dad had come home yesterday to surprise her and her mother because he had managed to get three days off for Christmas. The two women had been so happy to see him that Alison felt like she was intruding on special family time, and so she had retreated upstairs under the pretense that she was not feeling well. While she had spent the majority of the day watching television, it seemed that the memories had still found their way through.

Ali was shaken from her thoughts when she felt Emily begin to stir beside her, opening excited brown eyes to look up at Ali. "Hey. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Em," Ali responded, placing a gentle kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs," Emily said eagerly once the blonde had pulled away.

Ali knew that she couldn't do that. Emily deserved to spend Christmas morning with her mother and father, and she didn't need Alison getting in the way. So the blonde laid back against the pillow, feigning sickness again. "You know, I'm still not feeling the greatest. Why don't you just go down, and I'll join you later?"

Emily gave her a knowing and slightly disapproving look. "Ali, I know what you're trying to do. I appreciated it yesterday because it gave me time to spend with my dad, but it's not going to work today. No one deserves to be alone on Christmas."

Ali wanted to argue again because she didn't want to be the third wheel in Emily's happy family, but she knew that Emily was not going to back down on this one, and so Alison sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Emily grabbed her hand and dragged her off the bed, and then she followed the brunette downstairs to the living room. Yes, Ali could ascend and descend the stairs on her own now. Dr. Soria cleared her a week ago, and the blonde was to the point where she barely needed her cane anymore. Dr. Soria had told Ali that she should be able to walk on her own by the time that school started back up after the break, and the blonde could not have been more pleased at the news.

When the two girls arrived downstairs, Emily's parents were already waiting for them, and they wrapped the two girls up into hugs, wishing them both a Merry Christmas, as the girls wished it right back to them. Soon after though, the Fieldses began opening presents, and Ali sat down on the couch to watch, trying her best not to look too out of place. The three of them looked so happy as they pulled their presents to each other out from under the tree, smiling and laughing, and Ali wished, for the thousandth time, that her family could be like this. She wished that she could've had a real Christmas. She hated having to watch them be a family like this, and this was exactly why she had wanted to stay upstairs. She appreciated Emily's effort to make sure that Ali wasn't alone on Christmas, but if the blonde was being honest, sitting down here watching them only made her feel more alone.

After several seconds had passed, Pam Fields looked up at Alison with brows that were furrowed in confusion. "Alison, honey, aren't you going to come over here and open your presents?"

Alison could not help the shock and slight hopefulness that played out on her face. "I have presents?"

"Of course you do." Mrs. Fields smiled warmly. "You're part of the family now."

"And we would love it if you would remain in this family for many years to come," Wayne Fields said affectionately.

"I would be honored." Ali smiled brightly as she got up off of the couch and made her way to join them where they were sitting beside the Christmas tree.

There were only two gifts with Ali's name on them, but she was overjoyed that she had even gotten anything, excitedly tearing the paper off of the first one to reveal a gift card to Otter, her favorite boutique at the King James Mall. When Ali pulled opened the second one though, she was shocked to find a red Kate Spade handbag, unable to stop the smile from breaking through.

"You guys didn't have to get me this," Alison said.

"We wanted to," Wayne said with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Mr. and Mrs. Fields." Alison said gratefully.

"You're quite welcome, honey," Pam said, pausing before seemingly remembering something. "Oh, and Alison. There's a letter for you on the table. I have no idea who it's from because there was no return address, but it has to be from someone who knows that you're staying with us, so I'm guessing it's from your parents."

"Okay, thank you." Alison stood from the ground, wandering over to the table to find the letter in question. It was probably just a Christmas card or something, since her parents knew that she was staying with the Fieldses. They probably wanted to keep up the pretense that they actually cared about her. Ali wouldn't be surprised. It wouldn't be the first time that they had done something like that.

Ali tore open the envelope, unfolding the paper and glancing at the first line, only to find that it wasn't from her parents at all.

 _Dear Aliboo,_

 _I hope that you are having a wonderful Christmas. I heard that you were staying with the Fieldses for now, and I am assuming that that is still true. If not, I'm sure that they will give this to you. I heard about your accident, and I was so upset that you had gotten hurt. I realized then that I have absolutely no part in your life anymore, and for that, I am deeply sorry. You deserved so much better than what I gave you, what Mom and Dad gave both of us. I don't even know who you grew up to be, but I would love to learn, if you'll let me._

 _I know I was a terrible brother to you, so I completely understand if you want nothing more to do with me. I had such a hard time not having my parents around for me, and I know that's no excuse, but it's the truth. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that you didn't have anyone either. It was my job to take care of you, and I'm sorry that I failed you. All I can do now is hope that you will give me another chance._

 _I know you probably think that I've been out with my friends getting wasted all this time, but the truth is that the day after I heard about your accident, I checked into the Ulster Rehabilitation Center to get my alcohol addiction under control, and I wanted you to know that I'm doing it for you. You have motivated me every day that I have been here, and I think that I will be ready to come home sometime next week. I know you won't be there, but I do hope that you will consider at least stopping by to see me, even if you choose to stay with the Fieldses. I know I have made a lot of mistakes in the past seven years, but I hope that you will forgive me for all of it. If you do decide to come home, I promise that I will do my best to take care of you from now on, and I won't ever fail you again._

 _I love you,_

 _Jason_

Alison was in tears when she reached the end of the letter. She had mourned the great brother that she had lost every single day since he had left her for his beer buddies. She had wished every day and night when she was little that the brother that she knew would somehow come back. Was it possible that he was back now? She knew that the answer was yes because he was the person who had written her this letter.

"Ali, what's wrong?" Emily asked softly, and Alison jumped at the sound of her voice. She hadn't even heard the brunette enter the room.

"Nothing." Ali handed her the letter, wiping at the tears that had slipped from her eyes.

Alison was quiet while Emily read the letter, watching her girlfriend's face to gauge her reaction, and she noticed a smile on the girl's face once she had finished reading. She lifted her eyes up to meet Ali's. "This is great!"

Alison knew that she hadn't stopped smiling since she had read that first line. "It's the best Christmas present that I could have asked for."

* * *

The rest of Ali's day was spent with Emily's family, and it was everything that she'd ever hoped for when she was a little girl. They ate Christmas cookies, listened to Christmas carols, and watched Emily's favorite Christmas movies, and the blonde could honestly say that this was the best Christmas she had ever had in her life. She wasn't on the outside now. She was right in the middle, and it finally, finally felt like she had the family that she had always wanted.

Later that night, when she and Emily were getting ready for bed, Ali thought that it was finally the perfect time for her to give the brunette her Christmas present. She and Spencer had gone to the mall a few days ago to get presents for their respective significant others, and the blonde felt that her gift could not be more perfect. When the two of them were getting into bed for the night, Ali finally handed Emily the wrapped box.

She looked up at Ali in confusion. "What's this?"

"Your Christmas present," Ali told her. "Go ahead. Open it."

Emily pulled off the wrapping paper, opening the box to see the gift inside it, and Ali immediately began to explain. "It's a charm bracelet. You can collect a bunch of different charms and add them to it as you want to, but I got you one to start off with. It's the Eiffel Tower because we always used to talk about running away to Paris. The Tower is kind of like our thing now, and I just want you to know that I was never kidding when I said all of that stuff. I really would love to go to Paris with you someday, Em."

"I would love that too." Emily smiled brightly. "And thank you so much for this. It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," Alison said simply, watching as Emily placed it on her nightstand next to the gold Eiffel Tower sculpture that Ali had made in art class, which she had given to Emily a month ago. Ali continued to watch curiously as Emily got out of bed, opening her sock drawer and pulling out a present of her own, which she then proceeded to hand to Alison. The blonde tore through the wrapping paper before opening the box to find a silver heart necklace with the name Emily engraved onto it.

"I was originally going to have your name engraved on it, but I decided against it and decided to have it say my name because I want you to know that I am never going to leave you, no matter what, and that even when you can't see me, I will always be with you in your heart," Emily said sincerely.

Ali felt tears prick the corners of her eyes at Emily's words. "Thank you, Em. This is the best gift that anyone's ever given me. I can't believe that I have an amazing girlfriend whose parents welcome me as one of the family and that Jason is giving up drinking to come back home for me. This is all too good to be true."

"Well it is true, so believe it," Emily teased.

Alison looked at her girlfriend, so much love shining in her eyes, love that the blonde was sure was reflected in her own eyes, and she made a split-second decision, eyes never leaving her girlfriend's face. "I'm ready. That is, if you are."

Emily knew immediately what Ali was referring to, and she nodded her agreement. "I'm ready too. Besides, this is the perfect day to finally do it. It will be like another Christmas present."

"And it's going to be a great one," Ali said with a smirk. "Your parents won't hear us, will they?"

"They shouldn't. I mean, their bedroom is downstairs. Besides, I'm pretty sure they're watching TV anyway."

Ali didn't have time to respond because Emily's lips were already crashing into hers. She quickly returned the kiss, pushing Emily back onto the bed. As they made out in a heated passionate frenzy, they discarded their clothes until there was nothing between them. Alison moaned loudly at the feel of Emily's skin against hers, and suddenly Emily's fingers were slipping between Ali's legs, and the blonde moaned into her girlfriend's mouth, bucking her hips to meet Emily's thrusts. She dug her nails harder and harder into the girl beneath her, feeling herself getting close to orgasm until she blissfully fell over the edge, trying to keep her voice down as she moaned Emily's name.

"How was that?" Emily asked nervously once Ali had collapsed against her.

"Amazing, Em. You were amazing," Ali reassured her before moving down the bed and looking up to Emily with questioning eyes. "Would it be okay if I eat you out?"

Emily's eyes darkened at the blonde's word choice, and Ali grinned as she dove right in, thrusting her tongue in and out of Emily's soft folds. When she finally added a finger, she just left it there for a moment, allowing Emily to adjust to it before slowly beginning to move it.

"Faster," Emily panted, clutching at Ali's golden curls.

Before long, Ali had added two more fingers, and when she sucked hard on Emily's clit, the brunette girl finally came. Ali helped her ride out her orgasm, lapping up all of the juices that the brunette had to offer, before moving back up the bed to lie beside her. As the two girls fell asleep that night, tangled up in each other, they knew that this night would live forever in both of their minds. Ali knew that she was so lucky to have Emily, and the last thought on her mind as she drifted off to sleep was that this had truly been the best Christmas ever.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Hey, Emisonians! We have reached the final chapter of this story. Thank you to everyone who has continued to read and support this story, and thank you so much to those who have favorited, followed, or reviewed on it! You guys are all amazing, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter!**

* * *

Alison woke up ready and excited to go back to school. The break was finally over, and she was able to walk again without her cane. She normally dreaded going to school after a long break, but that was only because she had always had to maintain a persona at school to keep up her reputation. Now that that was finally over, she was actually excited about going back to school, especially since she would get to see her friends on a daily basis again. Over the break, it had been almost daily because Hanna was all about hanging out every day, but not everyone could come each time due to holiday stuff and family visiting, and Ali was pretty excited for them to be all together again. The blonde hurriedly got dressed, grabbing her backpack off of the floor and racing downstairs, heading for the door without even bothering to have breakfast.

"Wait up, Aliboo!" Jason called out to her. "I know you're excited to go back to school again, but don't forget your lunch."

She gratefully accepted the lunch from him. He had insisted on packing her lunch this morning, and now she was glad that he had, or else she probably would have forgotten it. "Thanks, Jason."

"I love you," he said, smiling as Ali quickly headed for the door again.

"I love you, too," Ali called over her shoulder.

Sometimes, she still couldn't believe that he had actually come back. When Emily had dropped Ali off at her home four days ago, she had honestly expected for the whole thing to be some kind of joke. She suspected that maybe the letter had been fake, and this was all a ruse because it was easier to believe than the alternative, that Jason might actually be coming home. Emily had offered to wait with her girlfriend to make sure that the blonde's brother actually showed up, but Ali insisted on waiting alone, wanting it to be just her and Jason if he arrived. Ali was shocked beyond belief when he actually did.

* * *

 _Four Days Ago_

 _Alison had been waiting on the couch for three hours, and the more she waited, the less hopeful she became that Jason was actually going to show. She thought about texting Emily to come and pick her up, but she held out, not wanting to miss her brother's arrival. When the door finally opened, Ali saw Jason step inside, and she looked at him tentatively, trying to gauge if he had really changed or not. When he smiled at her, she wasn't sure whether she should hug him or slap him. An awkward silence settled between them as Jason stood in the doorway before he finally spoke. "I'm home."_

 _Ali nodded in acknowledgement of his statement. "Yes."_

 _She didn't want to say anything more because she wanted him to do the talking. She wanted an explanation as to what had happened while he was away. She wanted a verbal confirmation that he was actually better and serious about being there for her this time. Even more though, she simply did not know what to say to him. What did one normally say to the brother who had abandoned her when she was small upon that brother's return seven years down the line?_

 _"Listen, Ali. I'm sorry," he finally said. "I messed up. I was a terrible brother to you." He paused for several seconds, clearly trying to think of what he wanted to say next, and Ali simply let him, not knowing what she wanted to say in response yet anyway. "I truly don't deserve to be a part of your life anymore, and I know that, but will you please just give me one more chance?"_

 _Ali sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Look, Jason, I know you don't know who I grew up to be, and I really wish with all of my heart that I could tell you I was a good person, but the truth is that I didn't turn out much better than you. When I hit high school, and even some in middle school, I ruled the school with terror tactics. I was the queen bee, and my friends and I picked on all of the losers and enjoyed all the worship that we could gather from people." Ali paused, swallowing thickly, before continuing. "Emily was one of those losers. She was the person I loved more than anything else in the world, and I wouldn't even let her be seen talking to me at school, wouldn't even let myself love her. I did some terrible things as well, and my new friends and Emily and the people at school have made me realize that I didn't need to be that person that I was, that person that I thought I wouldn't be happy without. In fact, being a bitch like that only made me more miserable. I've changed now though, or I'm trying at least, trying to just be myself, and everyone at school has given me a second chance, so who would I be if I didn't give you the same opportunity?"_

 _"Ali, I don't care who you were. I'm just glad that you are getting to be yourself now," Jason said with warmth in his voice. "Thank you for giving me another chance."_

 _"Of course, Jason. You're my brother, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Ali said._

 _Jason held out his arms for a hug, and Ali fell into his embrace, clutching tightly to him and trying without success to keep the tears from running down her face. For many years of her life, Alison thought that she would never see this Jason again, that he was gone forever, and she was extremely happy to find that that wasn't the case. As she clung tightly to her brother in the living room that held so many of her best and worst memories of the older boy, she found herself more than ready to make more pleasant memories with him to add to the collection._

* * *

Alison had been so happy that day, and since then, the two siblings had spent every day together, trying to get as much family time in as they could before the younger girl returned to school. The blonde had seriously enjoyed her time with her brother, but she would be lying if she said that she hadn't missed her friends in the few days that she had spent away from them, and she would definitely be lying if she said she hadn't missed her girlfriend. She and Emily had talked to each other on the phone each night, but they hadn't seen each other in person, and while the brunette was happy for her, Ali could still detect a bit of longing in her girlfriend's tone whenever they spoke. Her time spent apart from her friends and Emily only made Alison all the more excited as she hurried out the front door of her house, walking quickly down her driveway. Since she no longer had a car, Ali had to walk to school, just like she used to before her parents had gotten her the car when she had turned sixteen. When she was about to turn onto the sidewalk to begin the short walk to school, she heard someone shout out her name, and she turned around to see Spencer jogging over to her.

The blonde's face broke out into a huge smile at the sight of her best friend and neighbor as the brunette stopped in front of her. "Hey, Spence, what's up?"

"Do you mind if I walk with you to school?" Spencer asked.

Ali's brows furrowed in confusion. "Of course not. Why would I mind? You are my best friend, after all."

"I just didn't know if Emily was going to walk with you or not, that's all, and I didn't want to intrude on your time together, if that was the case." Spencer fell into step beside Ali as the blonde began to walk in the direction of the school.

"Nope. She's driving, so I'm meeting her at school," Ali answered. "You can drive too if you want. I don't want to make you walk with me, just because I don't have a car at the moment."

"And I could give you a ride in my car, but something tells me that you really want to walk today," Spencer shot back. "Maybe I do too."

"Then, walk with me," Alison said, giving Spencer a slight shrug. She gave off an air of indifference when she said this, but on the inside, she really did want Spencer to walk with her. She had missed the brunette in their short time apart, and she couldn't say that the other girl's presence was an unwelcome one.

"So how is it having Jason back?" Spencer asked. "You told us that you wouldn't be hanging out for the past few days because you would be spending time with your brother, but you never really told us any of the details of his return."

Ali shot her friend an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about that. I totally forgot that you guys didn't know about the letter." The blonde chuckled at Spencer's confused frown. "So on Christmas, Jason sent me a letter saying that he was at a rehab facility to get over his alcohol addiction and that he would be coming home soon. Apparently, he heard about my accident and that made him realize how badly he had failed me as a brother, and he missed me so he decided to get better for me, and he has, Spence." Ali's face broke out in a wide grin. "He's just like the Jason that I used to know before he went to high school and having him back around the house has been absolutely amazing."

"That's fantastic." Spencer smiled brightly at her best friend. "It looks like all kinds of good things are coming your way. Speaking of which, how does it feel to be walking again? I'm assuming that's the reason you wanted to walk to school today instead of having someone drive you."

"It is." Ali nodded. "And it feels great. Race ya to school!"

Ali took off at a run, and Spencer huffed before chasing after her. "That's not fair, Ali. You got a head start."

Alison playfully rolled her eyes, even though she was ahead of the brunette, and therefore, the other girl could not see her. "Oh, you always win anyway, so stop complaining."

Ali may have been able to outplay Spencer on the hockey field most of the time, but the brunette had always been the fastest runner, always coming in first when the team did laps around the field. Ali enjoyed the feel of the breeze in her hair and the sight of the pavement racing by beneath her as she ran. She had always taken quite a liking to running, and it was this feeling that she had missed the most. She was so happy to be able to run again, and she was even happier that she would be able to play field hockey again because she had definitely missed it in her time spent sitting on the sidelines.

By the time the two girls reached the school, they were both slightly out of breath, but they hadn't really broken much of a sweat, since the school was such a short distance from their houses. Spencer had won, as expected, having pulled ahead of Alison shortly after the blonde had taken off, although she held her own with her friend, only coming in mere seconds behind her.

"Nice try, Ali," Spencer said with a smug smile, "but it looks like I've won again."

"You won't be feeling so smug when I beat you on the hockey field tomorrow. I'm sure it felt nice to be the best player for once," Ali teased.

Spencer just shook her head at the other girl. "Whatever. You ready to head in there?"

"Definitely," Alison said. "I can't wait to see our friends."

The two of them walked into the school, and the crowd of students parted for them as usual, but Ali felt that there was something amiss still. She had thought that the only reason that they continued to part for her was because she had been in a wheelchair, but now, she didn't even have a cane, and they were still giving her this same sort of special treatment. She didn't need it though, and surprisingly, she found that she didn't want it.

Ali noticed then that the students were all giving her wary looks. Some even looked frightened, and that's when it all clicked for the blonde. Now that she was completely healed, they expected her to go back to the way she was. They were giving her a chance to be queen bee again, and all she had to do was play the part. Ali didn't know how she felt about that, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it because at that moment, Lucas whirled around the corner, not even looking where he was going and smacking right into her, causing his books to fall out of his arms and onto the floor.

Lucas looked up at her with fear prominent in his eyes. "I am so sorry, Alison. I don't know why I always do that. I should have been watching where I was going."

"It's okay. I wasn't really watching where I was going either." Ali crouched down to help the boy pick up his books.

He looked at her curiously before responding. "Emily was right. You really are coming around aren't you?"

Ali nodded, sort of shyly, an emotion that she didn't even know that she possessed. "The bitch act was just that. An act. I'm just being who I've always been underneath the mask. Myself."

Lucas cracked a smile at her as the two of them stood back up. "I like her. I hope she sticks around."

"She definitely will," Ali assured him with a wide grin.

Lucas continued on his way, and Ali and Spencer turned the corner that Lucas had just come around, making their way to the end of the hallway, where Emily's locker was located. The brunette was already there, standing by her locker, and Ali was puzzled when the brunette didn't smile after having caught her eye. Emily looked wary, as if she too expected Alison to go back to the way she was before, as if she expected Ali to come over there and break up with her. The blonde wondered why everyone thought so little of her, but then again, she suspected that it might be hard for them to get used to the way she was now when she had previously been so awful.

Emily's posture relaxed when her eyes fell to the item that Alison was wearing around her neck. It was the necklace that the brunette had given her for Christmas, and Ali was glad that she had decided to wear it today. Not that she ever took it off. Spencer hung back at a respectable distance as Ali walked over to her girlfriend and kissed her sweetly, but Emily pulled back almost immediately.

The brunette gently grabbed Ali's hand, gazing into the blonde's eyes with a serious look. "Are you sure that you want to do this? Things can go back to the way they were before if you want them to. You can rule the school again, and if you want that, then you probably shouldn't get caught hanging out with me."

Ali rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, although she had to admit that she was touched that the other girl would do that for her, and she brought her free hand up to cup the brunette's cheek. "I'm trying this new thing called being myself, and I don't need to be the queen bee anymore. You're all I need, Em, and you're all I'll ever need." She paused for a second to allow her words to sink in before continuing. "Now, will you let me kiss you?"

Emily smiled teasingly. "I guess it would be a little rude if I said no."

Alison leaned in to kiss her girlfriend on the lips, and she didn't care if anyone was watching. She didn't care who saw them. She didn't care if doing this made her the biggest loser in the world in the eyes of everyone else. She just wanted to be happy, and she'd be damned if she let anyone take this away from her.

When she pulled away from her girlfriend, Alison noticed that Mona, Hanna, and Aria had joined Spencer in the time that she had been with Emily, and she motioned for her four friends to join them, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's waist.

"So where are we going to go after school today?" Mona asked in lieu of a greeting.

The corners of Ali's lips turned down slightly in a confused frown. "What do you mean?"

"We have to celebrate being back in school," Mona said, and Ali had to admit that she never thought she'd ever hear those words coming out of her friend's mouth. Mona seemed to realize her mistake. "We have to celebrate being back together every day, I mean."

"Sure you did," Ali teased, and Mona stuck her tongue out at the blonde.

"I vote Latitude 360," Hanna said excitedly. "I will never get tired of that place."

Any normal group of people might complain about how they always went there, but not a single person spoke against it, every one of them loving the idea of going back to the place that had become their usual hangout. Alison and Aria nodded in agreement.

"Totally," Emily said happily.

Spencer nodded as well. "I'll be there, but I didn't bring my car to school today, and Ali doesn't even have one anymore, so do you mind if we carpool?"

"You guys can ride with me," Emily offered.

"Great. Does right after school work for everyone?" Mona asked.

"Sounds good," Hanna agreed.

"That's fine, but since the schedules are mixed up today due to the pep rally that's happening this morning, I have art at the end of the day, so I might be a little late," Aria said.

"Of course you will," Hanna muttered, causing the rest of the group to laugh.

As Ali laughed along with the rest of her friends, she realized that, in a strange way, she was glad that her accident had happened because so many good things had come out of it. It had helped her to start a relationship with Emily, it had caused her to form such a great group of friends, and it had caused Jason to change his ways and come back home. But most importantly of all, it taught Alison that the only way to be happy was for her to just be herself, and that was a lesson that she would never forget.


End file.
